Senator Saleem Mandviwalla criticized Nepra, saying consumers were being charged for power that was neither generated nor used
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat was told 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 energy metering policy and other Nepra-related issues. The meeting was chaired by Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan and attended by committee members.
During the meeting, Senator Saleem Mandviwalla criticized Nepra officials and said 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 drops in winter.
Supporting his remarks, 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 remains a problem for 250 million people,” he said.
He said Nepra had pending applications for new power connections of 1,000 megawatts, with no clarity on progress. “Due to high energy prices, our exports are not increasing. You are charging Rs 220 billion in capacity charges – what are you doing with this money?” he asked.
Senator Abdul Qadir said the IPPs had “held the entire country hostage” and questioned the absence of a forensic audit to establish their actual earnings.
Committee chairman 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 assessment, project costs, fuel consumption, machinery production and whether annual inspections of power plant equipment were carried out.
Senator Mandviwalla questioned the composition of electricity tariffs and asked what charges were included per entity and what role Nepra played. In response, a Nepra official said the tariffs included 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 increased electricity sales were 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 in winter to boost consumption.
The Nepra official said management and shareholding of distribution companies do not come under Nepra’s authority. “Nepra only regulates performance. Management and sales are the responsibility of distribution companies,” he said.
Addressing the meeting, prominent Karachi businessman Zubair Motiwala said electricity bills remained high due to fuel adjustment surcharge and quarterly circular debt adjustments. “Even if the price per unit goes down, the bill remains the same,” he said.
He said Nepra had issued several orders against K-Electric, but the 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 the industry could not operate in such conditions and warned that companies 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 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’s the policy, why are peak rates still being charged?” he asked.
He said circular debt had increased by Rs79 billion between July and September. “They say sales are down so prices should be raised,” he said, adding that major exporters had already switched to wind energy systems and warned that there could be a time when electricity would not be bought from the grid.
Sindh Assembly Member Shariq Jamal said that consumers who pay bills are being penalized for electricity theft and non-payment by others. He said that while 12-hour load-shedding was officially announced, outages often lasted 18 to 20 hours. “There is 20-hour relief in the winter. What happens in April and May?” he asked.
He alleged that K-Electric’s CEO had publicly stated on television that he would pay a fine of Rs.50 million but would not supply electricity.
The MPA urged the committee to increase fines on power companies from millions to billions of rupees and urged Nepra to hold public hearings in areas affected by load shedding. “Nepra has the authority to summon K-Electric and hear the public,” he said.
Jamal said Rs 30 million had been paid to the Sindh government on the same day to exempt a state hospital from load shedding, while faulty PMTs in interior Sindh often remained unrepaired for months.
Motiwala said Nepra had conducted a study on load shedding in Karachi but had not published its findings for two years. In response, Senator Rana Mahmoodul Hassan asked Nepra to submit the report within two days and said it would be shared with members of the provincial assembly and the Karachi Chamber of Commerce.
Motiwala also said K-Electric had Rs46 billion in consumer deposits.
Senator Abdul Qadir suggested that all MPAs should write to the Committee Chairman requesting that these letters be sent 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.
