NEPRA extends K-Electric
ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved K-Electric’s request for the renewal/ extension of its distribution license for six months.
KEL, on Thursday, submitted the request for renewal/extension of its Distribution License No. 09/DL/2003 dated July 21, 2003, which the Authority had granted for a twenty-year period under Section-21 and Section-25 of the original NEPRA Act 1997.
NEPRA announced this through its notice issued on Thursday.
In the year 2018, the NEPRA Act 1997 was amended, introducing certain fundamental changes, and restricting the distribution function to the wire/physical infrastructure business only. Additionally, Section-23E was introduced to allow the supply of electric power.
Section-23E granted a deemed status for the Supplier License for a period of five years from the promulgation of the 2018 amendments in the NEPRA Act.
Distribution Licenses under the previous provisions of the NEPRA Act expired on April 26, 2023.
Initially, KEL submitted a consolidated application for renewal/extension of its Distribution License and Electric Power Supplier License.
However, the notice issued by the Authority directed KEL to file a separate application for the grant of Electric Power Supply License as its deemed period had already lapsed.
Subsequently, NEPRA published a notice seeking comments from stakeholders on June 23, 2023, and sent letters to relevant stakeholders to solicit their input on the matter.
The Regulatory Meeting held on July 17, 2023, discussed the aforementioned matter, and it was concluded that a public hearing would be conducted on the issue.
During the regulatory process, which is expected to take around 3-6 months as per media reports, KE would be allowed to continue its operations under certain conditions:
- KEL shall not have any exclusivity for the provision of Distribution and/or Electric Power Supply services. The Authority reserves the right to issue other licenses in the Service/Concessional Territories.
- The provisions of Article 7 of Distribution License DL/09/2003 regarding “Exclusivity” will no longer apply, as they are not permitted under section-21 of the amended NEPRA Act.
- KEL will be obligated to allow Bulk Power Consumers (BPCs) to obtain supply from any generation company as mentioned in the amended NEPRA Act.
