Updated: August 2026
To calculate an electricity bill in Pakistan, multiply your units used (present meter reading minus previous reading) by your slab’s per-unit rate, add the per-kilowatt fixed charge and the Rs 3.23 per-unit FC surcharge, apply the quarterly and fuel adjustments, then add electricity duty and 18% GST. A 300-unit unprotected home works out to about Rs 13,287 for August 2026.
That formula is the whole of your bill, but the printed sheet hides it behind a dozen line items with cryptic names. This guide takes it apart step by step, shows the exact arithmetic on a real 300-unit example, and explains why the rate you pay per unit ends up far higher than the slab rate at the top. Every figure uses the rates under SRO 279(I)/2026, the notification effective 12 February 2026 that all distribution companies bill on today.
Key takeaways
- The formula: (units × slab rate) + fixed charge + FC surcharge ± quarterly adjustment ± fuel adjustment + electricity duty + 18% GST, then +7.5% income tax if the bill tops Rs 25,000 and you are not on the Active Taxpayers List.
- Units used = present meter reading − previous meter reading. Both numbers are printed on your bill; for a normal single-phase home meter you subtract and you are done.
- Unprotected homes are billed on the “landing slab”: the whole month at the single rate your total lands in, from Rs 22.44 to Rs 47.20 per unit under SRO 279(I)/2026.
- The slab rate is not the price you pay. A 300-unit bill lands near Rs 44 per unit once surcharge, fixed charge, duty and GST stack on top of the Rs 33.10 slab rate.
- Every DISCO uses the same national formula. LESCO, MEPCO, IESCO, K-Electric and the rest apply identical slab rates; only the fuel adjustment and provincial duty differ slightly.
What is the formula to calculate an electricity bill in Pakistan?
The electricity bill formula in Pakistan is: energy charge (units × slab rate) + per-kW fixed charge + FC surcharge + quarterly adjustment + fuel adjustment + electricity duty + GST + any income tax. The energy charge is the biggest piece; everything after it is a surcharge, adjustment or tax layered on top.
Each term has a fixed 2026 value or rule, set by NEPRA (the regulator that fixes the tariff), notified by the Power Division through the SRO, and applied by your DISCO’s billing software (run by PITC on bill.pitc.com.pk). Here is what every component means and its current value.
| Component | What it is | Value (August 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Units consumed | Present reading − previous reading, in kWh | Your meter’s number |
| Slab rate | Per-unit price of the slab your total lands in | Rs 22.44–47.20 (unprotected) |
| Fixed charge | Per kW of sanctioned load, set by your slab | Rs 275–675 per kW |
| FC surcharge | Financing cost surcharge on all non-lifeline units | Rs 3.23 per unit |
| Quarterly adjustment (QTR) | Quarterly tariff true-up, plus or minus | −Rs 1.9857 per unit (Jun–Aug credit) |
| Fuel adjustment (FPA) | Settles fuel cost from about two months earlier | ± varies each month |
| Electricity duty | Provincial levy on the variable charges | ~1.5% |
| GST | Federal sales tax under FBR | 18% |
| Income tax (Section 235) | Advance tax on high bills for non-filers | 7.5% if bill > Rs 25,000 and non-ATL |
Source: uniform domestic tariff under SRO 279(I)/2026, as published on official DISCO tariff pages (IESCO, FESCO) and under FBR tax rules. The full slab-by-slab rate table is in our electricity per unit price in Pakistan guide.
How do you calculate units consumed from your meter reading?
Units consumed equals your present meter reading minus your previous meter reading. Both figures are printed on the bill, labelled “Present Reading” and “Previous Reading,” and the gap between them is the number of units (kilowatt-hours, or bijli ki units) you burned that billing month.
For a standard single-phase domestic meter the calculation is that simple: if the present reading is 45,300 and last month’s was 45,000, you used 300 units. Some connections carry a multiplier (MF), usually on three-phase or CT-metered supplies, where you multiply the difference by the MF printed on the bill. For almost every home the MF is 1, so no extra step is needed. If your reading looks wrong or the meter shows an “A” (average) code instead of an actual read, our guide on how to read an electricity meter in Pakistan walks through checking it yourself before you calculate anything.
Getting the units right matters more than any other input, because those units decide your slab, and the slab decides the rate on every unit. One misread digit can push a bill up by thousands.
How is an electricity bill calculated in Pakistan, step by step?
An electricity bill in Pakistan is calculated in nine steps, from reading the meter to adding the final taxes. Work them in order and you land within a few rupees of the printed total. The steps below assume an ordinary unprotected domestic connection.
- Find your units consumed. Subtract the previous meter reading from the present reading. The difference is your units for the month. Multiply by the MF only if your bill shows one (most homes have MF = 1).
- Apply your slab rate. Find which slab your total units land in and multiply every unit by that slab’s rate. An unprotected home uses one landing-slab rate for the whole month (Rs 22.44 to Rs 47.20 per unit); a protected home splits the first 100 units and the rest across two lower rates.
- Add the per-kW fixed charge. Multiply your sanctioned load in kilowatts by the fixed-charge rate for your slab (Rs 275 to Rs 675 per kW). Lifeline consumers pay nothing here.
- Add the FC surcharge. Add the financing cost surcharge of Rs 3.23 for every unit used. Lifeline consumers are exempt.
- Apply the quarterly adjustment (QTR). On June, July and August 2026 bills the QTR is a credit of Rs 1.9857 per unit, so you subtract it.
- Apply the fuel adjustment (FPA). Add or subtract the monthly fuel price adjustment, a per-unit figure NEPRA notifies for fuel costs from roughly two months earlier. It can be a charge or a credit.
- Add electricity duty. Add provincial electricity duty, about 1.5% of your variable charges (energy plus surcharge).
- Add 18% GST. Add 18% sales tax on the energy charge, surcharge, adjustments, duty and fixed charge combined.
- Add income tax if the bill is over Rs 25,000. If the total exceeds Rs 25,000 and you are not on FBR’s Active Taxpayers List, add 7.5% advance income tax under Section 235.
Lifeline consumers skip steps 3, 4, 5 and 6 entirely: they pay only their flat rate plus duty and GST. The old TV licence fee that used to sit in this stack was abolished in July 2025, so do not add it.
Worked example: how to calculate a 300-unit bill (2 kW, unprotected)
Here is the full arithmetic for a 300-unit month on a 2 kW unprotected LESCO connection, built line by line the way the bill is. The 300-unit total lands in the 201–300 slab, so every unit is charged at Rs 33.10 and the fixed charge is set at the Rs 350 per-kW rate. These figures match our electricity bill calculator so you can reproduce them.
| Line | How it is worked out | Amount (Rs) |
|---|---|---|
| Energy charge | 300 units × Rs 33.10 (landing slab) | 9,930.00 |
| FC surcharge | 300 × Rs 3.23 | 969.00 |
| Quarterly adjustment (Jun–Aug credit) | 300 × −Rs 1.9857 | −595.71 |
| Fixed charge | Rs 350/kW × 2 kW | 700.00 |
| Electricity duty | 1.5% of (energy + surcharge − QTR) | 154.55 |
| GST | 18% of (energy + surcharge − QTR + duty + fixed) | 2,008.41 |
| Fuel adjustment (FPA + its duty & GST) | 300 × Rs 0.3364, plus duty and GST | 120.60 |
| Total payable within due date | 13,286.85 | |
| After due date (+10% surcharge) | 14,615.54 | |
| Effective cost per unit | 13,286.85 ÷ 300 | 44.29 |
Assumptions: unprotected domestic, 2 kW sanctioned load, LESCO duty of 1.5%, the Jun–Aug 2026 QTR credit of Rs 1.9857 per unit, and an FPA of Rs 0.3364 per unit (the fuel adjustment NEPRA notified under SRO 1690(I)/2026 for May 2026 fuel cost, which appears on July 2026 bills). The FPA changes every month and can flip to a credit, so treat that line as the one most likely to differ on your own bill. The bill stays under Rs 25,000, so no income tax applies.
Read the last row. The slab rate is Rs 33.10, but the unit you actually pay for costs Rs 44.29 once the surcharge, fixed charge, duty and GST are stacked on, even after the quarterly credit knocks Rs 596 off. That gap between the headline slab rate and the real per-unit cost is the reason “units × slab rate” alone always undershoots your bill.
Units to rupees: a quick reference table
The table below converts units to rupees for an unprotected home, showing both the raw energy charge (units × slab rate) and the approximate all-in bill once every surcharge and tax is added. Use it to sanity-check a bill or to see what one more slab does to your total.
| Units used | Landing slab (Rs/unit) | Energy charge (Rs) | Approx. all-in bill, 2 kW (Rs) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | 22.44 | 2,244 | 3,526 |
| 200 | 28.91 | 5,782 | 8,012 |
| 300 | 33.10 | 9,930 | 13,287 |
| 400 | 36.46 | 14,584 | 19,168 |
| 500 | 38.95 | 19,475 | 25,451 |
| 600 | 40.22 | 24,132 | 31,631 |
| 700 | 41.85 | 29,295 | 38,004 |
All-in figures assume a 2 kW unprotected connection, 1.5% duty, the Jun–Aug QTR credit and the current FPA, before any late-payment surcharge. From 500 units up the bill crosses Rs 25,000, so a non-filer adds a further 7.5% income tax that this column leaves out. Notice how the all-in total is roughly 30% above the raw energy charge at every level: that headroom is exactly what the surcharge, fixed charge, duty and GST cost you.
How is the calculation different for protected vs unprotected consumers?
The calculation differs in one decisive way: unprotected consumers are billed at a single landing-slab rate on every unit, while protected consumers get a telescopic split across two lower rates. Same units, very different maths.
Unprotected (landing slab). Whatever slab your total lands in reprices the whole month. A 200-unit unprotected home pays 200 × Rs 28.91 = Rs 5,782 in energy charges, with no discount for the units that sat in lower blocks.
Protected (telescopic). The first 100 units are billed at Rs 10.54 and the balance at Rs 13.01, up to the 200-unit ceiling where protected status ends. A 200-unit protected home pays (100 × 10.54) + (100 × 13.01) = Rs 2,355. A 180-unit protected home pays (100 × 10.54) + (80 × 13.01) = Rs 2,094.80.
The same 200 units cost Rs 2,355 as a protected consumer and Rs 5,782 as an unprotected one, purely because of which side of the line your last six months put you on. Protected status is granted automatically to domestic connections under 5 kW that stayed at or below 200 units in every one of the last six billing months. Cross 200 units even once and you drop to unprotected, where billing starts at Rs 22.44 from the first unit. The full rule, and how to win the status back, is in our protected vs unprotected consumers guide, and the 200-unit cliff itself is broken down in our 200-unit electricity bill explainer.
Lifeline consumers are a third case: a home within 50 units pays a flat Rs 3.95, one within 100 units pays Rs 7.74, and both skip the fixed charge, the FC surcharge and the monthly adjustments.
Why is the landing-slab rule so important to the calculation?
The landing-slab rule matters because, for an unprotected home, crossing a slab boundary reprices every unit you already used that month, not just the extra ones. This is the single most misunderstood part of how a Pakistani bill is made.
Take the jump from 300 to 301 units. At 300 units the energy charge is 300 × Rs 33.10 = Rs 9,930. At 301 units the total lands in the 301–400 slab, so all 301 units are charged at Rs 36.46: 301 × 36.46 = Rs 10,974.46. One extra unit adds Rs 1,044 before any tax, because it drags the whole month up a rate. The same trap sits at 400, 500 and 700 units, which is why staying just under a boundary is often the cheapest saving available. The full slab ladder and every boundary is mapped in our electricity tariff slabs in Pakistan guide.
What taxes and surcharges get added after the energy charge?
After the energy charge, a Pakistani electricity bill adds a per-kW fixed charge, the FC surcharge, two adjustments, provincial duty and 18% GST, and sometimes income tax. Together these turn a Rs 33.10 slab rate into an effective Rs 44 per unit. Here is what each one is, briefly:
- Fixed charge: Rs 275–675 per kW of sanctioned load, set by your slab, billed even in a zero-use month. It sits under a NEPRA review petition as of August 2026.
- FC surcharge: Rs 3.23 per unit on every non-lifeline bill, a financing cost recovery.
- Quarterly adjustment (QTR): a true-up set every three months; a Rs 1.9857 per-unit credit on Jun–Aug 2026 bills.
- Fuel price adjustment (FPA): a monthly plus-or-minus that settles actual fuel cost from about two months back. Lifeline and prepaid consumers are exempt. How it works is in our FPA in your electricity bill guide.
- Electricity duty: a provincial levy, roughly 1.5% of the variable charges.
- GST: 18% under FBR rules, charged on nearly the whole bill including the fixed charge.
- Income tax (Section 235): 7.5% advance tax if the bill tops Rs 25,000 and you are not on the Active Taxpayers List.
Each line is rounded to two decimals before the next is added, which is how a printed bill rounds. The complete line-by-line breakdown, with who is exempt from what, is in our taxes on your electricity bill guide.
The fastest way: use the calculator
Doing the nine steps by hand is worth it once, to understand the bill. After that, a calculator is faster and rounds exactly as your DISCO does. Our electricity bill calculator applies the August 2026 slab rates, the fixed charge, the surcharge, the QTR credit, duty and GST, and returns your effective cost per unit. Pick your company from the all-DISCOs hub, or jump straight to a regional page such as the LESCO bill calculator. Enter your units, load and consumer type, and the tool runs every step above in one pass.
FAQs
What is the formula to calculate electricity bill in Pakistan?
The formula is: (units consumed × slab rate) + per-kW fixed charge + FC surcharge of Rs 3.23/unit ± quarterly adjustment ± fuel adjustment + electricity duty (~1.5%) + 18% GST, plus 7.5% income tax if the bill exceeds Rs 25,000 and you are a non-filer. Units consumed is the present meter reading minus the previous reading.
How do I calculate units consumed for my electricity bill?
Subtract the previous meter reading from the present meter reading; both are printed on your bill. The difference is your units (kWh) for the month. For a normal single-phase home meter that is the final figure. If your bill shows a multiplier (MF), usually on three-phase or CT meters, multiply the difference by that MF.
How much is a 300-unit electricity bill in Pakistan in 2026?
A 300-unit unprotected bill on a 2 kW connection is about Rs 13,287 in August 2026: Rs 9,930 energy at the Rs 33.10 slab rate, Rs 969 FC surcharge, a Rs 596 quarterly credit, a Rs 700 fixed charge, plus duty, 18% GST and the current fuel adjustment. That works out to roughly Rs 44 per unit all-in.
Why is my per-unit cost higher than the slab rate?
Because the slab rate is only the first line. On top of it you pay a Rs 3.23 FC surcharge per unit, a per-kW fixed charge, the fuel adjustment, about 1.5% electricity duty and 18% GST, offset only partly by the quarterly credit. For a 300-unit home the Rs 33.10 slab rate becomes an effective Rs 44.29 per unit once everything is added.
How is a protected consumer’s bill calculated differently?
A protected consumer’s bill is telescopic: the first 100 units are charged at Rs 10.54 and the next 100 at Rs 13.01, up to 200 units. An unprotected consumer instead pays one landing-slab rate on the whole month. The same 200 units cost Rs 2,355 as protected energy charges but Rs 5,782 as unprotected, before any tax.
Is the calculation the same for LESCO, K-Electric and every other DISCO?
Yes. All ten ex-WAPDA distribution companies and K-Electric bill domestic consumers on the same uniform slab schedule and the same formula set by SRO 279(I)/2026. Only the monthly fuel adjustment and the provincial electricity duty vary slightly by region, so a LESCO and a K-Electric bill for identical units land within a small margin of each other.
Do I add income tax to every electricity bill?
No. Advance income tax under Section 235 applies only when a domestic bill exceeds Rs 25,000 in a month and you are not on FBR’s Active Taxpayers List, in which case 7.5% is added. Filers on the ATL pay no income tax on the bill regardless of amount, and bills under Rs 25,000 carry none either way.