Neelum–Jhelum surcharge
Definition. The Neelum–Jhelum surcharge is a per-unit levy introduced to help fund the Neelum–Jhelum hydropower project and applied across electricity bills nationwide.
Also called: NJ surcharge · Neelum Jhelum charges
Where you see it: A small per-unit line in the surcharges group where it currently applies.
A project levy, not a tariff
Ordinary tariff recovers the cost of running the system. This surcharge was created to fund construction of a specific 969 MW hydropower project on the Neelum river in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
That distinction matters when reading a bill: it explains why the line sits apart from the energy charge and why it has its own notification history.
Why it outlives the ribbon-cutting
Construction levies are set to recover borrowing over a repayment period, not to stop when the plant starts generating. The project has been in commercial operation since 2018; the recovery obligation continued after it.
Whether the surcharge is currently applied to your category depends on the tariff notification in force. The presence or absence of the line on your own bill is the only reliable check.
Frequently asked questions
Is this surcharge the same as the financing cost surcharge?
No. They are separate lines with separate purposes — one funded a named hydropower project, the other services power-sector debt more generally.
Do consumers in AJK pay it too?
Electricity supply in Azad Jammu and Kashmir is administered separately from the eleven PITC distribution companies, and its tariff structure does not simply mirror theirs.
Related terms
- Financing cost surcharge — Circular debt in one page: what it is, how the financing cost surcharge on your bill relates to it, and why it is not a charge for electricity you used.
- Quarterly tariff adjustment — How QTA differs from the monthly fuel adjustment, what capacity payments actually are, and why this line persists for several months at a time.
Go further
Back to the full 44-term glossary, or open your own bill with the reference number lookup.