ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power distribution sector continues to make uneven progress on health, safety and environmental (HSE) standards, according to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (Nepra) HSE Performance Evaluation Report for fiscal year 2024-25.
The report identifies persistent weaknesses among several public-sector distribution companies (DISCOs). Lahore, Quetta and Hyderabad electricity supply companies were rated in the “fair” category, reflecting deficiencies in safety governance, contractor oversight and the on-ground implementation of safety procedures. Islamabad, Peshawar and Sukkur power utilities were assessed as “good,” but showed inconsistent performance across key indicators, suggesting that recent improvements have yet to be institutionalised into mature and sustainable HSE management systems.
Only a limited number of public-sector DISCOs—namely Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Tribal Areas electricity supply companies—secured “outstanding” ratings during the evaluation period. While these utilities demonstrated relatively stronger compliance with safety standards, Nepra noted that their performance showed greater year-on-year variation compared to top-ranked entities. K-Electric emerged as the best performer in the distribution segment, achieving an “outstanding” rating with the highest score of 91 out of 100.
Nepra’s annual HSE evaluation covers generation, transmission and distribution licensees and assesses performance against 20 standardised categories under the Power Safety Code. These include accident prevention, contractor safety management, documentation quality, emergency preparedness and the effectiveness of HSE management systems. Scores are capped at 100 and classified into five tiers ranging from “unsatisfactory” to “outstanding.”
Beyond distribution companies, the report noted generally stronger and more consistent HSE performance among power generation licensees, many of which have maintained high scores over multiple years. Transmission companies, however, recorded mixed results, reflecting the operational and safety challenges of managing extensive high-voltage networks across vast geographic areas.
