Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) to take action against K-Electric, Karachi’s chief power distributor, for failing to supply uninterrupted power to its consumers.

A division bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saddat Khan, ordered the regulatory authority to take appropriate action against the power distributor for unannounced load-shedding and excessive billing.

It directed Nepra to ensure that the power utility implemented its order that declared area-based load-shedding illegal.

The court ruled, “Needless to state that n case of non-compliance by the K-Eelctric authorities, Nepra would be at liberty to take appropriate action in accordance with law against the power utility.”

It disposed of the petition filed by civil rights activists against prolonged load-shedding and excessive billing in the metropolis.

The court had reserved its verdict a day before after hearing arguments from the petitioners’ lawyer, the state counsel and Nepra’s lawyer.

The Nepra’s counsel informed that the power-sector regulator will take action against K-Electric only if it receives any complaint.

Justice Irfan Saddat Khan became visibly irked over the statement of the Nepra’s counsel, remarking that it didn’t know that K-Electric had made the lives of people miserable.

He questioned whether the regulatory authority was toothless that it was waiting for a complaint to act against the power utility?

Had Nepra fulfilled its responsibility, the petitioners wouldn’t have taken pains to approach the court, he observed.

During previous hearing, the court had censured K-Electric for being ineffective to reduce load-shedding and summoned its head to explain its failure.

Advocate Faisal Siddiqui, who represented the petitioners, submitted that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had earlier directed the power utility to stop unscheduled and prolonged load-shedding, however, it was going on unchecked.

He said that the citizens of the metropolis, especially those living in poor neighborhoods were experiencing more difficulties due to power cuts.

Karamat Ali of the Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research and other rights activists had petitioned the high court, seeking action against the power utility for carrying out load-shedding and charging excessive bills.

The petitioners submitted that the power supply remained quite erratic in the city, yet the power utility issued excessive bills to the consumers. The regulatory body had consistently failed to discharge its duties to take action against K-Electric for that illegal act, they alleged.

They said the power utility was unable to regulate power supply to the metropolis as it was carrying out unannounced and prolonged load-shedding.

The minister for water and power had asked NEPRA to look into the matter and fix new tariff, besides reimbursing the excessively charged amount to the consumers, but the regulatory body had failed to comply with the orders.

The petitioners requested the court to form a judicial commission to probe the issue of excessive billing and prevent the power utility to stop power cuts.