KARACHI: The Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) has announced to boycott the Public Hearings being organized by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) on September 29th & 30th, 2021 as it has been observed that the regulator has not been providing the adequate opportunity to share opinion and give suggestions neither to KCCI nor to majority of interveners.
President KCCI Muhammad Idrees, while recalling the proceedings of the last Public Hearing held on September 2, 2021, stated that during the said hearing, Chairman NEPRA acted very arrogantly, indecently and carried out the proceedings with an unbusinesslike attitude which was widely protested by the participants who boycotted the hearing. “There was no patience on part of Chairman NEPRA to listen to the very valid points put forward by the interveners. When an intervener who is considered as an expert on energy matters in Karachi, was presenting some very important technical points, he was interrupted to such an extent that the Zoom connection was shut off on the orders of Chairman NEPRA”, he added.
He said, “To resolve this issue, KCCI demanded to reconduct the hearing but the Registrar NEPRA categorically refused by giving lame excuses hence, we felt it necessary to bring this issue to the notice of Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar through a letter but unfortunately no response was received from his office”, he added.
“When the last Public Hearing stood unconcluded, how could NEPRA set stage for holding the next public hearings on other subjects”, he asked, adding that the purpose for holding these cosmetic hearings was to only appease K-Electric as no attention was being paid to the concerns, opinions and suggestions being given by all other stakeholders and it seems that the decisions are already taken before the hearing.
Muhammad Idrees urged Prime Minister Imran Khan and Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar to take strict notice of NEPRA’s highhandedness and order the regulator refrain from holding any public hearing on any other subject until the Hearing held on September 2, 2021 is declared as ‘null and void’ and a fresh date is announced for holding this particular hearing again as it remains unconcluded.
He also appealed all the stakeholders and interveners to exhibit total unity by boycotting the next Public Hearings of NEPRA on September 29th & 30th, 2021.
