ISLAMABAD: The Natio­nal Electric Power Regu­latory Authority (Nepra) decided on Friday not to amend or review its annual report 2014-15 exposing several deficiencies in the power sector, despite reservations expressed by the Ministry of Water and Power.

A meeting of Nepra members, presided over by its Chairman retired Brig Tariq Sadozai, also took exception to questions raised by the ministry about credentials of the regulator and its members, most of them appointed by the present government.

Take a look: All power companies sent wrong bills to consumers: Nepra

“Nepra may take up with the cabinet division and the prime minister the uncalled for remarks regarding credentials and credibility of a quasi-judicial forum created by the government through an act of parliament because of some deficiencies pointed out by the regulator’s professionals,” an official said.

Data to be shared with Ministry of Water and Power

The official said three of the five Nepra members, including the chairman, had been appointed by the present government after a lengthy selection process and the fourth (from Punjab) on the recommendations of the PML-N government in the province. Only one member, from Balochistan, was appointed by the previous government.

Therefore, the official said, if the power ministry was not satisfied with the selection process or qualification criteria of the Nepra members, the law as well as the process were required to be amended through the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and parliament.

A spokesperson for Nepra told Dawn that the meeting was pre-scheduled with circulation of agenda, but since a letter from the ministry had been received on Friday morning, the chairman had called other members for consultations.

The letter had reached the media two days ago.

The meeting decided to respond to the letter in which the water and power ministry had sought clarification about contents of the Nepra report.

A Nepra official said the meeting had decided to provide all data and evidence to the ministry in the larger interest of the power sector, although the regulator was not required under the law to give explanations to a line ministry.

The meeting observed that the authority had prepared the annual report as required under a relevant act of parliament and was bound to submit it to the CCI and parliament.

The official said Nepra was preparing a response to the ministry’s letter, which would also contain several annexures because the report had been prepared on the basis of a lot of data, hearings and evidence.

The Nepra spokesperson said every aspect of the annual report had been examined by engineers, fina­ncial experts and professionals of relevant fields through repeated presentations and field work. The chairman and four members of the regulator had also gone through the contents before incorporating them into the report.

The official said the ministry would be advised through the reply to concentrate on improvement of the power sector’s performance on the basis of deficiencies pointed out and suggestions made by the regulator.

Minister’s contention

Meanwhile, Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif and acting secretary Mohammad Younas Dagha are reported to have arranged a background briefing for a select group of television anchors. The minister is reported to have admitted that there were instances of overbilling, but said the regulator should have finalised the annual report in consultation with his ministry as it is a key stakeholder.

He said the power sector’s circular debt now stood at Rs318 billion after the clearance of Rs480bn in 2013. Khawaja Asif claimed that the addition of Rs15bn every month to this stock had stopped after efforts made by his ministry.

The ministry’s spokesman could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.

Published in Dawn, October 3rd , 2015

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