KARACHI, Jan 11: The role of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority came under fire at an international energy conference on Tuesday as speakers accused it of failing to protect the interests of consumers and instead favouring power generation and distribution companies.

Although almost every speaker at the 4th International Power Generation Conference & Exhibition (POWERGEN PAK 2011) was concerned about the current energy crisis in the country, Sindh Chief Minister’s Adviser on Investment Zubair Motiwala openly spoke against Nepra and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority and called upon the government to reconstitute them.

“Nepra and Ogra are white elephants…they do nothing and create problems,” he said, adding that “Nepra needs to be reconstituted and it should have representatives from consumers, the corporate sector, a retired judge and an energy expert as its members.”

Mr Motiwala went on to say that all the time the Karachi Electric Supply Company was seeking an increase in the power tariff and Nepra allowed the same despite its huge line losses. “How can you (Nepra) allow generation companies to include their line losses and power theft in the power tariff and fuel adjustment surcharge? This has to be stopped.”

He underlined the need to increase dependence on hydal and coal power generation to improve an energy mix and provide electricity to consumers at affordable rates.

Another speaker, Dr Qazi Ahmad Kamal of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that major decisions of Nepra had hurt consumers. He underlined the need for reviewing the tariff and asked power distribution companies to cut their line losses as one per cent of power theft is equal to a loss of Rs5 billion.

The registrar of Nepra, Safeer Shah, said on the occasion that the regulatory authority tried to maintain a balance between the consumers and the power producers and distribution companies.

The managing director of the Thar Coal & Energy Board, Ajaz Ali Khan, said that Thar would become the hub of petrochemical industry in the region and there were plans to generate 10,000 megawatts from this lignite coal.

The chief executive of the Engro Power, Khalid Mansoor, said that to overcome the current energy crisis, Pakistan had no other alternative but the development of indigenous energy resources.

He said that Thar investment would provide strategic energy resources that would guarantee energy security to Pakistan in the decades to come. Development of indigenous coal mining industry would lead to skilled job creation and transfer of technology, offering potential for future downstream industries in petrochemical and fertilizer products, he said.

A KESC representative, Syed Muhammad Rizvi, said that the power utility was planning to generate electricity by building a bio-gas project that would utilise cow manure and organic waste from Landhi and Korangi areas to generate between 15 and 20 MW. Speaking in the concluding session, Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmad Khuhro said that public-private partnership was necessary to extricate the country from the current energy crisis.

“While India is generating about 11,000 MW by exploiting coastal areas’ potential, Pakistan is just getting six MW,” he said.