Senator Saleem Mandviwalla criticized Nepra and said consumers were being charged for power that is not generated or used.
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat was informed that electricity consumers have been charged Rs 220 billion for 14,000 megawatts of idle power, while a long-pending survey report on load shedding in Karachi has been requested 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 matters related to Nepra. The meeting was chaired by Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan and attended by members of the committee.
During the meeting, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla criticized Nepra officials, saying that consumers were being charged for electricity that is neither generated nor consumed. “Rs 220 billion are charged to 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 comments, Senator Abdul Qadir said that despite repeated announcements in parliament claiming that electricity had become cheaper and assurances that audits of independent power producers (IPPs) had been carried out, the situation had not improved. “Despite all these claims, the result is nothing. Electricity is still a problem for 250 million people,” he said.
He said Nepra had pending applications for new electricity connections worth 1,000 megawatts, with no clarity on progress. “Due to high energy prices, our exports are not increasing. They are collecting Rs 220 billion in capacity charges. What are they doing with this money?” asked.
Senator Abdul Qadir said the IPPs had “held the entire country hostage” and questioned the absence of a forensic audit to determine their actual income.
Committee chairman Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan said the committee unanimously recommended a forensic audit of the IPPs. “How much new electricity is being added to the system and how many new power plants are being installed?” asked.
Senator Mandviwalla said a forensic audit would clarify how much electricity the 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 production and whether annual inspections of power plant equipment were carried out.
Questioning the composition of electricity tariffs, Senator Mandviwalla asked what charges are included per unit and what role Nepra plays. In response, a Nepra official said the tariffs comprised two components: capacity charges and power 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 were using 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 the industry, including selling electricity at Rs 10 per unit during winter to boost consumption.
The Nepra official said the governance and shareholding of distribution companies were not under the authority of Nepra. “Nepra only regulates performance. Governance and sales are the responsibility of the distribution companies,” he said.
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 unit price decreases, the bill remains the same,” he said.
He said Nepra had issued several orders against K-Electric, but the courts had issued suspension orders for all of them. “The company with the highest number of stay requests in the country is K-Electric,” he said.
Motiwala said the industry would not be able to operate in such conditions and warned that companies would be forced to install alternative energy systems. He said the country had an installed capacity of 42,000 megawatts, of which only 28,000 megawatts were operational, but consumers were charged for 14,000 megawatts of idle 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 rates still being charged?” asked.
He said circular debt had increased by Rs 79,000 crore between July and September. “They say sales are down, so prices should go up,” he said, adding that major exporters had already switched to wind power systems and warning that there could come a time when electricity would not be bought from the grid.
Sindh Assembly member Shariq Jamal said consumers who pay bills were being punished for electricity theft and non-payment by others. He said that while a 12-hour load shedding was officially announced, the outages often lasted between 18 and 20 hours. “In winter there is a load reduction of 20 hours. What will happen in April and May?” asked.
He alleged that the CEO of K-Electric had publicly stated on television that he would pay a fine of Rs 50 million but would not provide electricity.
The MPA urged the committee to increase fines on power companies from millions to billions of rupees and asked Nepra to hold public hearings in areas affected by load shedding. “Nepra has the authority to summon K-Electric and listen to the public,” he said.
Jamal said that on the same day Rs 30 million had been paid to the Sindh government 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 published its results 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 had Rs 46,000 crore in consumer deposits.
Senator Abdul Qadir suggested that all MPAs write to the committee chairman, requesting that these letters be sent to the Chief Justice of Pakistan and the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court to convey public concerns over the suspension orders granted to K-Electric.
