KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended the impugned notifications and orders issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) appellate tribunal concerning the review of K-Electric’s multi-year tariff.
A single-member bench headed by Justice Mohammad Abdur Rahman also issued notices to the Power Division, NEPRA and other respondents, directing them to appear on October 15.
K-Electric approached the SHC to challenge judgments delivered by NEPRA’s appellate tribunal in September 2026 and October 2025. The judgments concerned the utility’s appeals against NEPRA’s October 2025 review determinations and subsequent notifications issued by the regulator and the Ministry of Energy’s Power Division.
Counsel for K-Electric, Ayan Memon, argued that NEPRA had originally determined the company’s tariff for a seven-year period from 2024 to 2030, covering its generation, transmission and distribution operations.
Dispute Over NEPRA’s Review Powers
Memon told the court that although review petitions were subsequently filed, NEPRA had declared them non-maintainable. The regulator later maintained that it could exercise suo motu powers to review and vary the separate tariff determinations previously issued.
K-Electric challenged the regulator’s findings before the appellate tribunal in Islamabad. After the tribunal upheld NEPRA’s position, the utility brought the matter before the SHC.
The company’s counsel argued that NEPRA had effectively determined the tariffs afresh rather than reviewing its earlier orders, contending that this approach was contrary to a Supreme Court judgment. He also questioned the use of information submitted by other parties in the tariff review process.
Dispute Over Subsidy Burden
The counsel further argued that the revised determination transferred the entire burden of the subsidy being paid to K-Electric back to the utility, which could subsequently pass the additional costs on to consumers through fuel adjustments.
He maintained that while NEPRA had the authority to review its decisions, this power did not extend to re-determining tariffs outside the scope of a review. He also challenged the criteria applied by NEPRA and its appellate tribunal, arguing that the process exceeded their jurisdiction.
The SHC’s interim order suspends the challenged notifications and orders pending further proceedings, with the matter scheduled for hearing on October 15.
Story by Ishaq Tanoli
