National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has imposed a fine of Rs 5 million on K-Electric Limited on account of its failure to provide reliable power supply to consumers of Karachi on a non-discriminatory basis. According to Nepra, pursuant to media reports regarding prolonged hours of load shedding by K-Electric during the month of Ramadan in 2017 and direction of Sindh High Court to Nepra to ensure compliance with Nepra's earlier order of March 25, 2016 to provide electricity to all consumers on non-discriminatory basis, the Authority constituted a committee to verify facts and implementation of the aforementioned order.
The committee visited the generation, transmission and distribution facilities of K-Electric from June 01, 2017 to June 05, 2017, in order to monitor and verify load shedding in different areas of Karachi, current generation capacity of K-Electric and its utilization, number of interruptions/faults and implementation of investment plans.
The committee submitted a comprehensive report to the Authority which raised serious concerns on the performance of K-Electric and the Authority decided to initiate legal proceedings against K-Electric. Explanation followed by a Show Cause Notice was issued to K-Electric. Two opportunities of hearing were also provided, wherein, the representatives of K-Electric made their submissions but failed to provide any satisfactory response to the alleged violations.
The Authority observed that different units of Bin Qasim Power Station-I tripped frequently during the month of May, 2017 owing to improper maintenance by K-Electric. In addition, a huge number of unplanned interruptions of prolonged duration occurred due to K-Electric's weak and fragile distribution network. All this cumulatively resulted in extended load shedding, ranging from 14 to 16 hours in Karachi during the month of May, 2017.
After examining all the facts, the Authority has imposed a fine of Rs 5 million on K-Electric Limited due to non-compliance of Performance Standards, Distribution Code and direction of the Authority as given in the order dated 25.03.2016 regarding provision of electricity to all consumers without any discrimination who meet the consumer eligibility criteria.
A spokesperson for KE said that the power utility is a law-abiding and responsible organization which ensures compliance with all respective regulations and guidelines. Regarding the recent decision, the power utility will approach the regulatory authority for reconsideration.
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