March, 14 2005	Monday	03 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, March 13: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) spent hundreds of thousands of rupees of taxpayers’ money on providing household items like bed sheets, blankets and towels to its senior members without getting the amount regularized from the government, reveals the Auditor General of Pakistan’s report 2003-04.

“While checking the record relating to purchase of furnishing items for members of the authority, it was observed that besides customary furnishing items like ACs, furniture, curtains etc., household items like TVs, refrigerators, blankets, towels, quilts, bed sheets, bed spreads and office equipment like computers, digital diaries and generators were also provided to the members at public expense which is not a legitimate charge on furnishing,” the report said.

The authority was established under Nepra Act 1997 to stop exploitation of taxpayers at

the hands of electricity producers.

The report observed that Nepra itself approved a scale of Rs400,000 for expenditure on furnishing per member per tenure of service instead of getting the amount approved from the government.

Moreover, certain members of the authority did not even stick to the monetary limit of Rs400,000 and incurred expenditure of Rs384,699 in excess to their entitlement. Those who incurred the excess expenditure on furnishing included Nepra Board members Sardar Muhammad Sharif Khan and Abdul Rahim Khan. The facilities enjoyed by the authority members on taxpayers’ money were more than those given to ministers.

In the departmental reply to the Auditor General of Pakistan’s report, Nepra said: “The matter was brought to the notice of the management which replied that the authority approved the limits which should not be compared with the ceiling fixed for ministers.” Rejecting the authority’s reply, the AGP asked National Electric Power Regulatory Authority to get the ceiling of the furnishing items approved from the government, specifying therein the admissible items as well.

While observing that Nepra’s fee and fine structure needed to be rationalized, the AGP noted that the authority had accumulated surplus of Rs300 million by the end of 2003-04 which could meet its needs for the next four years.

The authority meets its financial needs through fees and fines levied on generation, transmission and distribution companies and the incidence of “these heavy levies on account of fees is ultimately passed on by the companies concerned to consumers,” the report said.

It noted that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority did not initiate any proceedings to impose fine on licensees (electric power distribution companies) who did not make payment in time, which caused a loss of Rs48.63 million to the national exchequer.

However, in the departmental reply, the authority said: “It is the discretion of the management to impose or not to impose the fine.”

However, the AGP rejected the authority’s arguments and observed that “the reply is not acceptable because no case was considered on merit.

Instead, imposition of fines was ignored altogether by the management.”

The Auditor General of Pakistan noted that Sarhad Hydel Development Organization carried out business without obtaining licence and caused a loss of Rs26.70 million to Nepra.