Nepra's regional office lying idle since long

National Electric Power Regulatory Authority's (Nepra) regional office in the city has been lying dysfunctional for the last five months, creating problems for the consumers of K-Electric in getting their complaints registered with the regulatory authority.
It was on the request of K-Electric's consumers that the Nepra had set up its regional complaint office in Bahadurabad in early 2014. An assistant director (Consumer Affairs) and two other employees were posted at the office to receive the citizens' electricity-related complaints for getting them resolved with the KE, sources said. However, the assistant director of the regional office got himself transferred to Islamabad after five months, thereby leaving his two subordinates at the office in the lurch.
People who have been visiting the Nepra's regional office to lodge their electricity-related complaints said that as a matter of fact the affairs of the office was nowadays being looked after by a clerk and he was simply performing the job of a postman. "The clerk after receiving consumers' complaints send the same to the Nepra's Islamabad office, instead of getting their issues resolved with the KE officials in Karachi," remarked a jittery consumer.
Voicing concern over ineffectiveness of the Nepra's regional office, consumers said that it was beyond their comprehension that why the Nepra was incurring thousands of rupees on account of rent and maintenance of the office when it had already lost its utility. They urged the Nepra authorities to depute some competent officials at the regional office so that they could help resolve their electricity-related issues on priority.
However, when an official of Nepra, Naveed Ilahi Sheikh, was contacted by Business Recorder to seek his version over the issue, he said that the assistant director, who was earlier manning the affairs of the office, has been temporarily transferred to Islamabad. "The regulatory body will soon assign the task of looking after the affairs of its regional office to the official," he added.