MEPCO Fixed Charges
Last checked 26 September 2026
MEPCO fixed charges are a monthly amount for each kW of your sanctioned load. Since February 2026 every home except lifeline pays them, at Rs 200 to Rs 675 per kW depending on the slab your month's units fall in, so a 2 kW home using 250 units pays 2 × Rs 350 = Rs 700. This guide explains why NEPRA added them, the rate for each slab, how ToU meters differ, where your load is printed and how to lower the charge.
What is a fixed charge on a MEPCO bill?
A fixed charge is the part of the tariff billed on your connection's load in kilowatts rather than on the units you use. NEPRA's tariff terms define it as the part of a two-part tariff recovered each month on the billing demand in kW.
For a home on a normal meter, NEPRA applies the fixed charge to the sanctioned load, which is the load in kW that MEPCO has sanctioned for the connection. A home with a 3 kW sanctioned load pays for 3 kW whether the month's units are 120 or 280; only the rate per kW changes with the slab.
Homes that pay fixed charges do not also pay the minimum monthly charge. NEPRA's notes keep that minimum, Rs 75 on a single-phase connection and Rs 150 on three-phase, only for consumers without a monthly fixed charge.
Who pays no fixed charge?
Lifeline homes are the only homes with no fixed charge: single-phase connections up to 1 kW whose highest month in the last 12, and the current month, is 100 units or less. They pay the minimum charge instead. Protected homes do pay a fixed charge, Rs 200 or Rs 300 per kW, as the protected and lifeline consumer rules explain.
Why did NEPRA add fixed charges in 2026?
NEPRA added fixed charges because most power-sector costs are fixed while nearly all of them were recovered through unit rates. Its decision of 11 February 2026 says over 93% of system cost was recovered per unit and 7% through fixed charges.
Capacity payments to power producers and NTDC and HVDC transmission costs are fixed costs that must be paid every month, whatever consumers use. NEPRA called this a mismatch between how costs arise and how they are recovered. It also noted that fast-growing rooftop solar is reducing demand from the grid, and that the National Electricity Plan calls for fixed charges to cover at least 20% of fixed cost over time. At the hearing, the Ministry of Energy put the fixed share of power-sector cost at around 73%.
On that basis NEPRA approved fixed charges for all homes except lifeline, from Rs 200 to Rs 675 per kW a month. For homes above 300 units and ToU homes, it says the increase was offset by lower unit rates. The money raised was used to reduce the cross-subsidy paid by industry, whose unit rates fell by Rs 1 to Rs 4.58.
What changed on February 2026 bills?
From February 2026, homes using up to 300 units, other than lifeline, began paying a fixed charge per kW, and homes above 300 units moved from a flat charge per consumer to a per-kW charge with lower unit rates. The Ministry of Energy's before-and-after comparison, recorded in NEPRA's decision, gives the figures for the uniform rates that MEPCO shares with the other former WAPDA distribution companies.
Homes using up to 300 units, other than lifeline homes, paid no fixed charge before; they now pay Rs 200 to Rs 350 per kW, with unit rates unchanged. Homes above 300 units paid a flat Rs 200 to Rs 1,000 a month per consumer; they now pay Rs 400 to Rs 675 per kW, and their unit rates fell by Rs 0.49 to Rs 1.53.
Whether the change raised a bill depends on the load. At 350 units, a 1 kW home now pays Rs 400 + 350 × Rs 36.46 = Rs 13,161 in energy and fixed charges, against Rs 200 + 350 × Rs 37.99 = Rs 13,496.50 before, which is Rs 335.50 less. A 2 kW home pays Rs 13,561, which is Rs 64.50 more. Both figures are before adjustments and tax.
MEPCO fixed charge rates by slab
The fixed charge per kW is set by your category and the slab your month's units fall in: Rs 200 for a protected home up to 100 units, rising to Rs 675 above 500 units and on ToU meters.
Each row below is a slab from NEPRA's 2026 schedule, and the last three columns multiply its rate by a sanctioned load of 1, 2 and 3 kW. All amounts are in rupees per month and exclude tax:
| Category and units | Rs per kW | 1 kW | 2 kW | 3 kW |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protected, 1-100 | 200 | 200 | 400 | 600 |
| Protected, 101-200 | 300 | 300 | 600 | 900 |
| Un-protected, 1-100 | 275 | 275 | 550 | 825 |
| Un-protected, 101-200 | 300 | 300 | 600 | 900 |
| Un-protected, 201-300 | 350 | 350 | 700 | 1,050 |
| Un-protected, 301-400 | 400 | 400 | 800 | 1,200 |
| Un-protected, 401-500 | 500 | 500 | 1,000 | 1,500 |
| Un-protected, above 500 | 675 | 675 | 1,350 | 2,025 |
| Lifeline | None | - | - | - |
Because the rate follows the slab, the fixed charge on the same connection can change from one month to the next. Time-of-use meters pay Rs 675 per kW on a different basis, explained below. The unit rates for every slab are in the MEPCO tariff 2026 rate tables.
How are fixed charges calculated?
To calculate a MEPCO fixed charge, multiply the sanctioned load in kW by the rate for the month's slab. For ToU meters, use 50% of the sanctioned load or the MDI, whichever is higher.
- Find your sanctioned load in kW on the bill.
- Find the month's units and your category: protected, un-protected or ToU.
- Look up the rate per kW for that slab in the table above.
- Multiply the load by the rate.
Three examples on normal meters:
- a 1 kW protected home at 90 units: 1 × Rs 200 = Rs 200;
- a 2 kW un-protected home at 250 units: 2 × Rs 350 = Rs 700;
- a 3 kW un-protected home at 450 units: 3 × Rs 500 = Rs 1,500.
To see the fixed charge beside energy, adjustments and sales tax, enter your own figures in the MEPCO bill calculator.
Fixed charges on time-of-use meters
A home on a ToU meter pays Rs 675 per kW on 50% of its sanctioned load or its MDI, whichever is higher. MDI is the highest demand the meter records in the month, measured over 30-minute periods. For a 6 kW home, 50% of the load is 3 kW:
- with an MDI of 2 kW, the charge uses 3 kW: 3 × Rs 675 = Rs 2,025;
- with an MDI of 4.5 kW, the charge uses 4.5 kW: 4.5 × Rs 675 = Rs 3,037.50.
ToU unit rates and season timings are on the MEPCO peak hours page.
Where is sanctioned load on your bill?
Your sanctioned load is printed on the bill as the connection's load in kW, among the connection details, and the fixed charges line shows the amount billed on it.
NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual lists the load sanctioned for the connection among the details a bill should generally show, along with the tariff, fixed charges and billing demand. How to read your MEPCO bill walks through the other lines, and your latest bill opens with the MEPCO online bill check.
Check that the figure fits your home. At NEPRA's February 2026 hearing, one commentator warned that fixed charges need correct sanctioned loads, saying the loads distribution companies currently record are not appropriate. If yours looks too high, compare it with your wiring test report and your appliances.
How can you lower your fixed charges?
To lower fixed charges, apply to MEPCO to reduce a sanctioned load that is higher than your home needs. The Consumer Service Manual allows a reduction to any lower limit supported by the wiring test report.
For a home on a normal meter, NEPRA's note of 11 February 2026 bases the fixed charge on the sanctioned load, so under that note the saving scales with each kW removed. A home using 250 units with a 4 kW load pays 4 × Rs 350 = Rs 1,400 a month; at 2 kW it pays Rs 700, which is Rs 700 a month less, or Rs 8,400 over twelve such months. On a ToU meter the same note uses half the sanctioned load or the MDI, whichever is higher, so a high MDI can keep the charge where it was.
NEPRA's tariff terms for MEPCO of 7 January 2026 add provisos to the billing demand on which per-kW fixed charges are recovered. For fixed charges, sanctioned load means the maximum demand recorded in the preceding 60 months. After a sanctioned load is revised, the charge runs on 25% of that load or the month's MDI, whichever is higher, and is adjusted once the MDI is established over the next six months; connections with a second source, such as captive power or net metering, stay on 25% of the sanctioned load or the MDI. The February note for homes does not say whether these provisos also apply to homes, so ask MEPCO to confirm the new fixed charge before counting on the saving. On the 2026 home bills we examined, normal meters were charged the slab rate times the load printed on the bill, and ToU and net-metered homes on 50% of the sanctioned load or the MDI; after a reduction, check that the new load appears in the load box.
The manual lists what to attach to the application:
- a test report from the Electric Inspector or his authorised wiring contractor;
- a copy of the last paid bill, with no arrears, deferred amount or installments pending;
- an attested copy of your CNIC;
- the power supply contract.
The security deposit is then recalculated at current rates for the new load, and the difference is refunded or charged. The full process is in MEPCO load extension and reduction.
Staying within a lower slab also lowers the per-kW rate: at 300 units a home pays Rs 350 per kW, at 301 units Rs 400. Keeping protected status holds it at Rs 200 or Rs 300.
For savings beyond the fixed charge, see ways to lower the rest of your MEPCO bill.
Sources: NEPRA decision of 11 February 2026 on the rationalization of tariff (paragraphs 14, 16, 17 and 18-21; Annex-A-1 and notes), notified as S.R.O. 279(I)/2026; NEPRA determination of MEPCO's supply tariff, 7 January 2026 (terms and conditions, Part I); NEPRA Consumer Service Manual as on 26 November 2025 (sections 1.4, 2.14, 5.2, 6.4 and 7.5). Checked 26 September 2026.