Discos' June FCA: FPCCI flags objections and regulatory queries
In a letter to Registrar, Nepra, FPPCI said that while the proposed negative adjustment of Rs. 0.6541/kWh may appear consumer-friendly but it grossly under-represents the hidden inefficiencies, persistent opacity, and regulatory shortcomings plaguing the power sector.
According to the FPCCI, the actual negative FCA, if inefficiencies were removed, would justifiably fall between Rs2.50/kWh to Rs3.00/kWh. Nepra's own Member (Technical) has consistently flagged major concerns across multiple FCA hearings.
Drawing from these issues and recent disclosures-including the Rs. 244 billion overbilling scandal, system losses exceeding Rs. 267 billion, and long-standing unresolved outages- FPCCI has requested that NEPRA, while rejecting the current FCA proposal, seek direct and time-bound explanations from CPPA-G and the Power Division on the following points: (i) when will CPPA-G, ISMO, and NTDC be mandated to submit detailed, verifiable deviation and constraint logs before each FCA hearing, as required under principles of transparency? (ii) Why are completion timelines for key infrastructure-such as the Lahore North Grid, SCADAIII, and restoration of HVDC transmission-still unpublished despite repeated cost impacts due to underutilization and system constraints? (iii) What efforts have been made to resolve the Guddu ST-16 (747 MW) outage persisting since July 2022, and the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Plant (969 MW) shutdown since May 2024? What is the current status and who is accountable for the resulting losses exceeding Rs 150 billion? (iv) Why generic ISMO certificates are still being accepted as evidence during FCA hearings, especially when ISMO is not fully operational? Will Nepra now require these to be supported by publicly auditable dispatch data? (v) How does Nepra reconcile system losses at 17.55%-far above the allowed 11.43%-with recovery claims of 96.6%, especially when SEPCO and QESCO report recovery levels of only 25.8% and 38.7% respectively? Has Nepra verified the raw meter data? (vi) What enforcement action has Nepra taken against DISCOs involved in the 2024 and 2025 overbilling scandals? Why is there no public disclosure of disciplinary outcomes? (vii) Why were costly fuels like RLNG (Rs. 21.87/kWh) dispatched in June 2025 despite zero dispatch from HSD and large availability of hydel? Has Nepra reviewed the validity of PLAC claims made under such suboptimal dispatch? Why are Nepra's statutory obligations under Article 19A of the Constitution and Section 7(2)(f) of the NEPRA Act—to ensure public access to data-not being enforced rigorously? (ix) Why have the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) of K-Electric's plants been made publicly available for comments, while the Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed by CPPA-G which underpin uniform national tariffs-have never been published for public scrutiny.
The FPCCI also asked why the Service Level Agreements (SLAs) of K-Electric's plants are made publicly available for comments, while the actual Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) signed by CPPA on which the entire nation's consumers are charged under the uniform tariff-are never subjected to public scrutiny?
'Is transparency only reserved for Karachi, or do the rest of the country's power contracts not deserve the same accountability?' FPCCI questioned.
The association argues that power sector cannot be allowed to continue this selective opacity, systemic overbilling, and absence of accountability while the public pays for inefficiencies it did not cause.
'We urge Nepra to use this FCA proceeding to assert its independence, enforce disclosure, and direct corrective action through binding regulatory orders,' said the FPCCI.
The Nepra will hold a public hearing on July 30, 2025 to be attended by the public and private sector.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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