ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has imposed a fine of Rs5 million on K-Electric Limited on account of its failure to provide a reliable power supply to consumers of Karachi on a non-discriminatory basis.
NEPRA imposed the fine due to the non-compliance of performance standards, distribution code and direction of the authority as given in the order dated 25 March 2016 regarding the provision of electricity to all consumers without any discrimination, who meet the consumer eligibility criteria, said NEPRA.
Pursuant to media reports regarding the prolonged hours of load shedding by K-Electric during the month of Ramzan in 2017 and direction of Honorable Sindh High Court to NEPRA to ensure compliance with NEPRA’s earlier order, the Authority (NEPRA) constituted a committee to verify facts and implementation of the aforementioned order.
The committee had 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, the 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. This followed by a show cause notice issued to K-Electric. Two opportunities of hearings were also provided, wherein, the representatives of K-Electric made their submissions, however, failed to provide any satisfactory response to the alleged violations, said NEPRA.
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.
