ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on Thursday conducted public hearing into motion for imposing additional surcharge on XWAPDA Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and K-Electric consumers.
The hearing was presided over by NEPRA Chairman Tauseef H Farooq while other members Mathar Niaz Rana, Maqsood Anwar Khan and Amina Ahmed were also present. Member Sindh Rafique Ahmad Shaikh participated through video link in the hearing.
The government sought additional surcharge of Rs 3.39 per unit to recover from the consumers of DISCOs and K-Electric.
The Chairman NEPRA said the authority neither was rejecting nor accepting the surcharge at this moment. Whether, the authority has power to impose the surcharge, the chairman questioned.
The authority would decide the matter once the Power Division furnished legal opinion in this regard. The authority required the government legal position over the imposition of surcharged, the chairman said.
The officials of Power Division apprised that there were still a pending loans worth Rs 765 billion of Power Holding Private Limited. Around over Rs 965 billion subsidies have been given to the consumers, they said.
A subsidy worth Rs 100 billion was given to the farmers for provision of electricity to them at Rs 7.91 per unit. Similarly, a subsidy was also provided to the industrial consumers, they said.