The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has imposed penalties of Rs. 25 million each on the National Grid Company and the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) over repeated failures to meet key legal and safety requirements meant to protect Pakistan’s power system.
In its orders, Nepra held both entities responsible under Section 48 of the NEPRA Act for not completing mandatory operating procedures with multiple power plants and for poor planning to restore electricity after nationwide blackouts. The fines must be paid within 15 days, and officials warned they will be recovered as land revenue if not cleared on time.
⚠️ Missing procedures and delayed recovery
Nepra’s investigation revealed that more than one-third of the required procedures with power producers remain unsigned, despite long-standing deadlines. The regulator rejected attempts by both organizations to blame independent power producers, stating that dispute-resolution mechanisms already exist in power purchase agreements.
The authority linked Pakistan’s prolonged power restoration during major outages in 2021, 2022, and 2023 to weaknesses in the “black start” system — a mechanism used to restart the national grid after a system breakdown. Several power plants failed to synchronize on time due to missing or unclear blackout-specific instructions.
🧾 Nepra calls response evasive
Nepra criticized both the National Grid Company and CPPA for conducting several mandatory black start tests only after legal proceedings began, calling the approach evasive and harmful to grid security.
The regulator also noted that black start services are already included under existing contracts with power plants and do not require additional payments.
Nepra warned that stronger compliance will be enforced in future assessments to avoid repeated disruptions and support faster recovery during nationwide outages.
