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| June 1, 2005 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 23, 1426 |
Nepra refuses to revise tariff
ISLAMABAD, May 31: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has refused to revise the power tariff for Wapda distribution companies and advised the federal government to notify its tariff determination of Feb 6 to meet a World Bank deadline.
Nepra also told the government that if it wanted to set up a new appellate forum to entertain appeals against decisions of the regulatory authority, it would have to abolish the right to move the Supreme Court and high courts because there could not be two parallel systems. Under the existing law, the Supreme Court or the high courts could be approached against any decision of Nepra.
Even if a change in the law or nomenclature of Nepra was to be made, it would have to be done with the approval of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) because Nepra was established by the CCI and was a concurrent subject, Nepra Chairman Lt-Gen (retd) Saeeduz Zafar told Dawn.
“We cannot bypass the legal process for the announcement of a new tariff. The federal government should immediately notify our earlier determination,” said the Nepra chairman. He said Nepra had presented its point of view at a recent meeting of the cabinet committee on regulatory authorities presided over by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
At the heart of the problem is a deadline set by the World Bank, which says that if Nepra’s tariff determination for Wapda companies was not notified, the bank’s executive board scheduled to meet in July would not consider a $350 million Poverty Reduction Support Credit for Pakistan. Lt-Gen Zafar said Nepra had yet not admitted for public hearing tariff petitions submitted by nine companies of Wapda separately because they lacked necessary information. “We have asked them for details. Although a pro forma is given to seek relevant data, even then Wapda companies withhold vital information,” he added.
He said Nepra had also taken up the issue of non-appointment of its member from Punjab despite completion of a selection process about six months back. The post has been lying vacant since August 2003.
He said under the law, Nepra had to give a reasonable time to stakeholders to submit their comments on tariff petitions of Wapda companies and then hold a public hearing because it had to create a balance of prudence in terms of cost of service, affordability of the country and protection of consumers’ rights.
He said if Nepra finalized Wapda tariffs speedily, it would create doubts about the transparency of the decision and anybody could challenge it on the ground that time period given in the law was not adhered to.
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