Claim: A visual with the K-Electric’s logo states that the per-unit electricity charges effective “today” are PKR 42 during peak hours (6:00-10:30 PM) and PKR 24 during off-peak hours (the remaining time of the day). It is unclear which day or date the word “today” in the message refers to. Further, the text advises people to “use electricity accordingly” and to “switch off non-essential electricity” during peak hours lest they get a hefty bill.
Fact: Information available on the K-Electric website does not mention any such amount as the viral message claims. Further, the text is old and a company spokesperson has already denied its authenticity.
On 14 February 2023, Soch Fact Check received an image on WhatsApp claiming that the K-Electric has set the per-unit electricity charges at PKR 42 for peak hours and PKR 24 for off-peak hours.
“From today.
Peak hours 6pm to 10:30 PM (Rs 42 per unit)
Off Peak (Rs 24 per unit)
Plz use electricity accordingly
Everyone please note
شام 6 سے رات 10.30 تک غیر ضروری بجلی بند رکھیں۔ ورنہ بہت بڑا بل بن جائے گا۔ [Switch off non-essential electricity from 6 pm to 10.30 pm. Otherwise, it will become a huge bill.]”
The visual also includes the logo of K-Electric, the sole power supplier of Pakistan’s economic and financial hub, Karachi.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check has come across a similar message in the past as well, so we used the Urdu portion of the caption as input in Facebook’s organic search and found posts from 2022.
We reached out with our query to K-Electric via Twitter, where the power-supplying company’s General Manager for Digital Communications, Moiz A. Juddi, said, “There are no changes in electricity rates for consumers.
“Any changes to the consumer tariffs are subject to approval and notification from the NEPRA Authority [National Electric Power Regulatory Authority], and the GoP [Government of Pakistan], and immediately shared on KE’s website,” Juddi said in a tweet, sharing a link to the ‘Tariff Structure’ for consumers on the K-Electric website.
As of writing time, the latest document available on the K-Electric website and applicable to consumers is Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) 1175, dated 25 July 2022.
According to the document, the general supply tariff for residential consumers is PKR 34.49 per unit during peak hours and PKR 28.07 per unit during off-peak hours for the months after October 2022. Moreover, PKR 75 for a single-phase connection and PKR 150 for a three-phase connection is a monthly fixed charge regardless of units of power consumed.
The NEPRA has implemented a Uniform Tariff Policy to determine the tariff currently being charged by all electricity distribution companies in Pakistan, the K-Electric says. It “is in line with the uniform tariff across the country as per the SRO 1175 of 25 July 2022, it states, and is only “applicable when notified by the regulator and Ministry of Energy, Power Division”.
Peak time is defined on the K-Electric website as 6:30-10:30 PM during the April-October period and 6:00-10:00 PM during the November-March period. The remaining hours are categorised as off-peak time.
Juddi, the K-Electric official, added in a second tweet that the visual in question “is an old image against which [the company] Spokesperson response was published in July last year”.
There are no changes in electricity rates for consumers. Any changes to the consumer tariffs are subject to approval and notification from the NEPRA Authority, and the GoP, and immediately shared on @KElectricPk's website. Visit (https://t.co/OM4pFo30Vo) for more information.
— Imran Rana, Spokesperson, K-Electric (@imranrana21) July 2, 2022
K-Electric Spokesperson Imran Rana wrote in a 2 July 2022 tweet: “There are no changes in electricity rates for consumers. Any changes to the consumer tariffs are subject to approval and notification from the NEPRA Authority, and the GoP, and immediately shared on @KElectricPk’s website. Visit (https://ke.com.pk/customer-services/tariff-structure/) for more information.”
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes that the viral visual that has been circulating on social media and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp since at least 2022 is false.
Virality
We found hundreds of posts on social media platforms, some of which can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Information available on the K-Electric website does not mention any such amount as the viral message claims. Further, the text is old and a company spokesperson has already denied its authenticity.