Under pressure: Giving in to pressure, NEPRA puts off hearing on tariff cut

Ministries pressing regulator to impose Rs1.50 per unit surcharge.

ISLAMABAD:

Succumbing to the pressure of ministries of finance and water and power, which called for imposing a Rs1.50 per unit power surcharge on consumers to clear the circular debt, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday postponed its scheduled hearing that had to decide on a cut of Rs3.20 per unit in power tariff.

Officials said the finance and water and power ministries wanted to impose a new power surcharge on the consumers to generate Rs11 billion to retire the circular debt.

However, Nepra has been reluctant to follow the directives of the federal government, saying that the imposition of power surcharge was not in line with the Nepra’s ordinance.

The regulator was scheduled to conduct a public hearing on Thursday to decide on the Rs3.20 per unit reduction in power tariff on account of fuel price adjustment for December 2014, but it postponed the hearing due to a row with the federal government.

The Ministry of Water and Power has already imposed Rs2.50 per unit surcharge in different phases and wanted to slap another Rs1.50 per unit surcharge on the consumers.



Earlier, the Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) sought Rs3.20 per unit reduction in power rates from Nepra for all distribution companies except for K-Electric (KEL) due to the cheaper fuel cost in power generation, following a massive reduction in oil prices in the international market.

It was expected that the energy-starved masses would receive a relief of Rs20 billion in the form of reduced power tariff. However, the ministries of finance and water and power sprang into action and pressurised the regulator to avoid passing on the complete relief to the consumers.

The double standards of the incumbent regime, which used to make claims of providing relief to the people on a priority basis, was evident on Thursday when Nepra postponed the public hearing.

Sources said Nepra had postponed the hearing due to continuous pressure from officials of the finance ministry. They said the officials were being pressurised to avoid passing on the complete relief to the consumers of electricity distribution companies.

A meeting was scheduled to be held on January 29 to take a final decision for providing relief to the masses.

This has exposed the fact that the regulators are not independent in the country and the government has failed to tighten the noose around corrupt officials of power distribution companies to reduce power theft.

During the present government, the recovery rate of power bills has come down from 93% to 85% and the government wanted to burden the honest consumer by raising the ceiling of losses.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2015.

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