Poor Governance Causes Prolonged Power Outages: Member Nepra
A senior member of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has raised serious concerns over persistent governance failures in the power sector, blaming them for extended electricity outages, rising costs, and long-standing inefficiencies.
According to the official, a series of missteps—ranging from delayed infrastructure projects to inadequate planning—have severely disrupted the sector’s performance. “These are not isolated issues; they reflect a deep-rooted pattern of poor decision-making and a lack of accountability,” the Nepra member stated.
The forced outage of Guddu Unit-16, which has remained offline since July 2022, alone caused an additional burden of Rs. 827 million in June 2025. The cumulative losses from this unit now stand at a staggering Rs. 116.827 billion. Similarly, the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project remains inoperative despite Rs. 75.5 billion already collected from consumers through surcharges.
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Critical infrastructure delays, including the Lahore North Grid Station and the SCADA-III system, continue to affect power transmission. In June alone, inefficiencies in the system—such as the HVDC line running at just 43% capacity—resulted in Rs. 201 million in avoidable losses. The total losses for the current fiscal year have now crossed Rs. 14 trillion.
Moreover, Part Load Adjustment Charges reached Rs. 4.1 billion in June, with the annual figure climbing to Rs. 41.2 billion, further highlighting the need for better demand forecasting and grid reliability.
The Nepra official stressed that these repeated failures are symptoms of chronic mismanagement. “Unless institutions and individuals are held accountable, no reform will deliver meaningful results,” the member warned.
He called for urgent and coordinated reforms to fix operational flaws, control the rising Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA), and protect the sector from further financial instability. Without concrete accountability measures, experts fear that the crisis could worsen, putting even more pressure on consumers and the economy.
