How to Read Your MEPCO Bill
Last checked 26 September 2026
A MEPCO bill packs a lot onto one page. This guide walks through it in the order you will meet it: who the bill is for, how many units you used, what each unit cost, and what you must pay by when.
Keep your own bill open while you read. Open it online with your reference number.
1. Your connection details
- Reference number: 14 digits followed by U or R. You need it to check, print and pay your bill. More about the reference number.
- Customer ID: a second number for your connection. The official bill website accepts it instead of the reference number.
- Tariff: the category you are billed under. A-1 is the residential tariff, used for homes and places of worship.
- Sanctioned load: the load in kW approved for your connection. Your fixed charge is worked out on it, and 5 kW or more puts you on a time-of-use meter.
- Dates: the billing month, the reading date, the issue date and the due date.
2. Meter readings and units
The bill shows the previous reading, the present reading and the difference between them. That difference is the number of units (kWh) you used. It decides your slab and nearly everything else on the bill. Compare the present reading with your meter. MEPCO says meters are read once a month on the date printed on the bill.
3. What your electricity cost
| Line | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cost of electricity | Units multiplied by the rate for your slab. Un-protected homes pay one rate on every unit. Protected homes get the lower rate on their first 100 units. See the current rates. |
| Fixed charges | A monthly amount per kW of sanctioned load, from Rs 200 to Rs 675 per kW. Lifeline homes do not pay it. More on MEPCO fixed charges. |
| Fuel charges adjustment (FCA, also shown as FPA) | Set by NEPRA every month. It is the difference between the actual fuel cost of power generation and the fuel cost built into the tariff. The September 2026 bill carries the adjustment for July 2026, charged on July's units. See fuel and quarterly adjustments. |
| Quarterly adjustment (QTA) | Set by NEPRA every quarter to settle changes in capacity payments and other power costs. It can be a charge or a refund. From September to November 2026 it adds Rs 0.5194 a unit. |
| Debt servicing surcharge (FC surcharge) | A per-unit surcharge the federal government charges under section 31(8) of the NEPRA Act to repay power-sector debt: Rs 3.23 a unit, or Rs 0.43 for protected homes, the rates NEPRA allowed on 30 March 2023. Lifeline homes do not pay it. |
| Electricity duty (ED) | A provincial duty printed at 1.5% of the cost of electricity and fixed charges. |
| General sales tax | Charged at the standard rate of 18% on the total billed for electricity: the cost of electricity, fixed charges, adjustments, the surcharge and the electricity duty. See taxes on a MEPCO bill. |
| Income tax | Appears on larger bills of consumers who are not on FBR's active taxpayer list. |
Lifeline and prepaid consumers do not pay the current fuel and quarterly adjustments.
4. What you must pay, and by when
- Arrears: any unpaid amount from earlier bills. If arrears appear after you paid, keep your receipt and ask MEPCO to correct them.
- Installment: part of an older amount that MEPCO agreed to split over several months. See MEPCO bill installments.
- Payable within due date: the amount to pay on or before the due date.
- Payable after due date: a higher amount that includes the late payment surcharge.
5. The billing history box
This box lists the units, amounts and payments of recent months. Use it to spot unusual months and to check your protected status. The bill history guide covers what to look for.
The PTV fee and electricity duty
The PTV fee is no longer on MEPCO bills: it shows as zero or blank on bills from July 2025, after the Prime Minister announced its end in June 2025. The provincial electricity duty is still charged. 2026 MEPCO bills print it at 1.5% of the cost of electricity and fixed charges, although the federal energy minister asked the provinces in July 2025 to abolish it.
Does something look wrong?
Rebuild the bill in the bill calculator first. If the difference is not explained by arrears, installments or tax, raise it through the MEPCO bill correction process.
Sources: NEPRA decisions of 11 February 2026 (tariff) and 4 September 2026 (FCA for July 2026 and quarterly adjustment); NEPRA determination of MEPCO's supply tariff, 7 January 2026 (A-1 definitions); MEPCO FAQ page; reports by ProPakistani and Profit on the duty and PTV fee. Debt servicing surcharge: NEPRA decision of 30 March 2023 on the federal government's surcharge motion (rates by category, page 8); NEPRA decision of 7 September 2026 on use of system charges (paragraph 12); NEPRA decision of 9 December 2025 on the incremental consumption package (S.R.O. 2409(I)/2025); Sales Tax Act 1990, section 2(46)(i), FBR text updated to 2025-26. Checked 26 September 2026.