The Senate Standing Committee on the Cabinet Secretariat was told that electricity consumers have been charged Rs220 billion for 14,000 megawatts of inactive power, while a long-pending survey report on load-shedding in Karachi has been sought from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) within two days. According to a statement issued by the Press Information Department (PID) Karachi, the committee met at the Sindh Secretariat to review the solar net metering policy and other Nepra-related matters. The meeting was chaired by Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan and attended by committee members. During the meeting, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla criticised Nepra officials, saying consumers were being charged for electricity that was neither generated nor consumed. “You are collecting Rs220b from consumers for electricity that was never produced or used,” he said, adding that these charges were imposed because electricity consumption declines during winter. Supporting his remarks, Senator Abdul Qadir said that despite repeated announcements in parliament claiming electricity had become cheaper and assurances that audits of independent power producers (IPPs) had been conducted, the situation had not improved. “Despite all these claims, the result is nothing. Electricity remains a problem for 250 million people,” he said. He said Nepra had pending applications for new electricity connections amounting to 1,000 megawatts, with no clarity on progress. “Due to high energy prices, our exports are not increasing. You are collecting Rs220b in capacity charges — what are you doing with this money?” he asked. Senator Abdul Qadir said IPPs had “held the entire country hostage” and questioned the absence of a forensic audit to determine their actual earnings. Committee chairperson Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan said the committee unanimously recommended a forensic audit of IPPs. “How much new electricity is being added to the system, and how many new power plants are being installed?” he asked. Senator Mandviwalla said a forensic audit would clarify how much electricity IPPs generated, how much they supplied and how much they received from the government in capacity charges. Senator Abdul Qadir said the audit should also examine the feasibility of the projects, land valuation, project cost, fuel consumption, machinery output and whether annual inspections of power plant equipment were conducted. Questioning the composition of electricity tariffs, Senator Mandviwalla asked what charges were included per unit and what role Nepra played. In response, a Nepra official said tariffs comprised two components: capacity charges and energy charges. “Capacity charges include all project costs and are not linked to electricity consumption. They cannot be reduced,” the official said, adding that out of 40 million consumers, only two million used three-phase connections. He said increasing electricity sales was the only solution to capacity payments. Senator Abdul Qadir said capacity payments were being made while people were not receiving electricity. He suggested introducing a special package for industry, including selling electricity at Rs10 per unit during winter to boost consumption. The Nepra official said governance and shareholding of distribution companies did not fall under Nepra’s authority. “Nepra only regulates performance. Governance and sales are the responsibility of the distribution companies,” he said. Speaking during the meeting, prominent Karachi businessman Zubair Motiwala said electricity bills remained high due to fuel adjustment surcharges and quarterly circular debt adjustments. “Even if the per-unit price decreases, the bill remains the same,” he said. He said Nepra had issued several orders against K-Electric, but courts had issued stay orders on all of them. “The company with the highest number of stay orders in the country is K-Electric,” he said. Motiwala said industry could not operate under such conditions and warned that businesses would be forced to install alternative power systems. He said the country had an installed capacity of 42,000 megawatts, of which only 28,000 megawatts were operational, yet consumers were being charged for 14,000 megawatts of inactive capacity. Referring to solar net metering, he said Nepra was now encouraging higher electricity consumption to increase sales. “If that is the policy, then why are peak-hour tariffs still being charged?” he asked. He said circular debt had increased by Rs79 billion between July and September. “They say sales have declined, so prices should be raised,” he said, adding that major exporters had already shifted to wind energy systems and warning that a time could come when no electricity would be purchased from the grid. Sindh Assembly member Shariq Jamal said bill-paying consumers were being punished for electricity theft and non-payment by others. He said while 12-hour load-shedding was officially announced, outages often lasted 18 to 20 hours. “There is 20-hour load-shedding in winter. What will happen in April and May?” he asked. He alleged that K-Electric’s chief executive had publicly stated on television that he would pay a Rs50 million fine but would not provide electricity. The MPA urged the committee to increase fines on power companies from millions to billions of rupees and called on Nepra to hold public hearings in load-shedding-affected areas. “Nepra has the authority to summon K-Electric and hear the public,” he said. Jamal said Rs30 million had been paid to the Sindh government on the same day to exempt a government hospital from load-shedding, while in interior Sindh, faulty PMTs often remained unrepaired for months. Motiwala said Nepra had conducted a survey on load-shedding in Karachi but had not released its findings for two years. In response, Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan directed Nepra to submit the report within two days, saying it would be shared with members of the provincial assembly and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce. Motiwala also said K-Electric held Rs46 billion in consumer deposits. Senator Abdul Qadir suggested that all MPAs write to the committee chairperson, requesting that these letters be forwarded to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court to convey public concerns over stay orders granted to K-Electric.
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