Lawmakers seek review of capacity payments, tariffs and regulator’s salary decisions
ISLAMABAD: A Senate committee has directed a comprehensive performance audit of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), citing concerns over billions of rupees in capacity payments to non-operational Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and the regulator’s overall performance.
The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, chaired by Senator Rana Mahmood Ul Hassan, also decided to refer the alleged unauthorised increase in salaries and allowances of NEPRA’s chairman and members to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for detailed examination.
During the meeting, lawmakers questioned continued capacity payments to power plants that were reportedly not operational, describing the practice as an unnecessary financial burden on electricity consumers. Committee members also criticised NEPRA for failing to provide tariff determination details despite repeated requests.
Committee seeks detailed information on power projects
The committee directed NEPRA to submit comprehensive data on all IPPs, including tariff determinations, installed generation capacity, project costs and rate analyses.
Lawmakers also questioned the decision to establish imported coal and RLNG-based power plants in Punjab instead of coastal regions. In response, officials said the plants were located near major electricity demand centres. However, the committee requested complete project documentation for further review.
Additionally, members observed that some IPPs appeared, at first glance, to have undermined the government’s solar energy policy. The committee also called for a review of electricity tariffs, renegotiation of IPP agreements where necessary and the termination of projects considered unnecessary to help reduce electricity prices.
Salary issue referred to PAC
Separately, the Cabinet Division informed the committee that NEPRA had increased the salaries and allowances of its chairman and members without obtaining prior federal government approval. Officials said proposals for revised market-based remuneration submitted in 2018 are still awaiting formal approval.
The committee also reviewed progress on its recommendations regarding increasing the upper age limit and number of attempts for the CSS Competitive Examination. It directed the Federal Public Service Commission and the Establishment Division to submit a compliance report and decided to discuss the government’s daily petroleum pricing mechanism at its next meeting.
