ISLAMABAD: Quorum of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has completed as the government has appointed Rafique Ahmed Shaikh as Member NEPRA for the Sindh province, it was learnt on Sunday.
Sources in the power sector said that government has appointed Rafique Ahmed Shaikh as Member NEPRA for Sindh province. With effect to this appointment, the quorum of NEPRA has been completed.
They said that NEPRA has remained dysfunctional following the retirement of Tariq Sadozai on 21 November 2018. They also said two positions of Member Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained vacant for a long time. However, the government has now appointed Member Sindh to make NEPRA a functional authority by completing its quorum, said sources.
The sources also said that after the appointment of Member Sindh, NEPRA has become capable to take pending decisions, especially power tariff hikes already approved by federal cabinet’s economic coordination committee and can also call hearings and hold meetings of important nature.
They also said that Rafique Ahmed Shaikh has worked with K-Electric and a Dubai-based influential lobby has paved the path for his appointment as Member Sindh. They said since important business matters of K-Electric will be taken up in NEPRA in the future, so the appointment of a former employee of K-Electric has been made by the influential lobby. The position of member KPK is likely to be filled soon by the government, said sources.
Prior to the appointment of NEPRA’s Member Sindh, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) became dysfunctional as the federal government failed to appoint a new chairman to fill the top slot of the power sector regulator in due time. Also, after the expiry of NEPRA chairman’s job period, the authority was left with only two members while three members are required to meet the quorum criterion.
It is pertinent to mention here that according to the NEPRA Act, three members are required to hold a meeting of the authority, which in total consists of five members, including the chairman.
NEPRA’s registrar was not available on his personal cell phone when contacted for a comment on this story.
