Nepra rejects KESC's stance of hearing it before decision KESC issues seven-day notice to Nepra

An 'error' as claimed by Nepra in the Schedule of Tariff (SoT), which has forced Karachiites to pay billions of rupees since 2009, has also brought National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) face-to-face.
Though Nepra has issued a corrigendum to rectify the claimed error while deciding to adjust the already collected money worth billions of rupees from millions of consumers, KESC has stood to challenge the decision issuing seven 7 days legal notice to the authority. One of the legal advisors of Nepra, while talking to Business Recorder, has, however, rejected the company's stance saying that the corrigendum was issued to rectify the numerical error which needs no hearing or prior input from KESC.
Nepra, through the corrigendum about schedules of tariffs attached with determinations of the authority in the matter of KESC (July 2009-March 2010 to January 2012 - March 2012), issued on November 23, has informed concerned ministries and others that the Authority, taking note of the error, has issued the corrigendum to rectify the error in the said SoTs. Accordingly, the corrigendum along with revised SoTs (in 19 pages) was being issued for further necessary action.
As per the determination of Nepra, the authority had to adjust by Rs 2.79/kWh increase for all categories of consumers uniformly. However, the regulatory authority had inadvertently adjusted Rs 3.33/kWh, Rs 2.99/kWh, Rs 3.1/kWh and Rs 2.67/kWh for the consumer categories of Al- Residential 1-100 units, Al- Residential 101-300 units, Al- Residential 301-700 units and D1- Agriculture respectively which according to sources caused heavy burden on the over 2 million consumers of Karachi.
However, after the shocking development, KESC on December 3 has issued a legal notice to Nepra, a copy of which is available with Business Recorder, showing its surprise over the decision that the authority has not complied with due process and has arbitrarily without just cause reopened issues which in KESC's opinion had already attained finality through laps of time.
Referring to various rules and clauses of Nepra, KESC has claimed that the authority has not only failed to issue KESC with any show cause notice on the said error it also has not sought KESC's counter comments before proceeding to issue the alleged corrigendum and decision, it said.
"Nepra has totally ignored KESC and only a copy was sent by email to KESC, it is evident that KESC was never officially intimated in advance of Nepra's decision dated November 23," it said. Raising various legal and technical points in the notice, the company has asked Nepra to withdraw its letters (about the corrigendum) within seven days from the date this letter was issued and provide it opportunity of being heard through a hearing in this matter before any decision was notified, failing which KESC will be severely prejudiced and exposed to a gross miscarriage of justice.
Through another letter sent to Ministry of Water and Power on December 3, KESC, while referring the notice issued to Nepra, has said that the company has taken serious objection to Nepra's lack of compliance with due process and relevant procedures set out in its Act 1997. Until this issue is resolved, KESC has requested to the ministry to avoid from making any statutory notification with regard to the corrigendum.