ISLAMABAD: Major power sector stakeholders on Friday opposed the imposition of over Rs2.50 per unit surcharge on electricity tariff to maintain it at the current level.

Speaking at a public hearing, presided over by Nepra Chairman Brig (retd) Tariq Saddozai, interveners asked the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to reject the government request. The Nepra, however, reserved its decision.

Munawar-ul-Islam, a government representative, told the regulator that the ECC decision to impose and legalise a total of four surcharges would not add to the government revenue because it would be used for specific purposes, like debt-servicing of power sector loans and to keep uniform tariff across the country irrespective of varying health of the distribution companies.

Likewise, he said another Neelum-Jhelum surcharge was already in vogue for a few years and was meant for development of 969MW Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project.

Rashid Law Associates, an intervener, argued that the request for reconsideration of the tariff determined by Nepra was not maintainable in the first place because it was time-barred.

The law firm was of the view that the Nepra determinations for tariff cuts were completed in March this year and the government or its entities did not file review petition within legally permissible period of 15 days.

It said the inefficiencies of the power companies and theft by dishonest consumers and power bureaucracy could not be charged on honest consumers.

The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association Secretary said textile exports tumbled by 18 per cent this year mainly because of higher electricity costs.

He said Nepra had promised last year that electricity rates would start falling this year and not go up but the government was now coming up with different surcharges to transfer the cost of bad governance on consumers.

He said Pakistan’s exports had become uncompetitive because international buyers were not ready to bear the cost of inefficiencies in Pakistan and hence buying products from competitors.

Munawar, however, contended that the question of time bar did not arise in the instant request because the government was not seeking fresh tariff but seeking readjustment through surcharges to include the element of subsidy that would ultimately benefit 80pc of the domestic consumers through uniform rates across the country.

He said the Balochistan High Court had also validated an earlier decision by the government to impose surcharge as its inherent right in the public interest.

The official said Nepra had previously allowed imposition of surcharges for specific “services” and courts had upheld such surcharges.

He said any decision of the government or the regulator was always open to court intervention.

Last week, the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet had approved a request by the Water and Power Ministry to impose a series of surcharges to block reduced electricity rates determined by the Nepra.

These surcharges included tariff rationalisation surcharge, Neelum-Jhe­lum surcharge, financing cost sur­charge, etc., with a cumulative ann­ual impact of more than Rs250bn.

Published in Dawn, May 30th, 2015

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