Electricity consumers could be burdened with even bigger bills next month, as authorities gear up to increase the per unit cost of electricity.

The Central Power Purchasing Authority has filed a petition in the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority for the price of electricity to be increased by Rs5 per unit.

NEPRA will make a final decision on the matter on March 28. If accepted, consumers will be burdened with an additional Rs40 billion.

The increase in price has been sought in lieu of fuel adjustment charges for the month of February.

Over 6.8 billion units of electricity were sold in the month of February.

Of this electricity, hydel energy accounted for 24.77%, while nuclear energy accounted for 23.29%.

Meanwhile, 20.23% of power was generated from imported LNG and 11.04 was generated from local gas.