Daily Times

The Lahore High Court on Monday disposed of more than 3,000 petitions filed against the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) mandate to collect fuel adjustment charges in electricity bills. The LHC in its verdict declared the NEPRA’s act, which allows authority to collect FDA charges from electricity users, as illegal. The petition was filed by Munir Ahmed and others last year. The petition highlighted that the government was collecting tens of millions of rupees from the citizens on account of fuel adjustment charges. In September 2022, the LHC had sought the federal government’s reply over a petition filed against the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s mandate to collect fuel adjustment charges in electricity bills. During the hearing on Sep 16, the petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Azhar Siddiqui, challenged the electricity regulator’s authority, saying it was not exhaustive. The counsel added that NEPRA can only issue orders if it has full authority.