K-Electric Sindh Assembly committee threatens action over prolonged outages

K-Electric faces possible privilege proceedings after its chief executive failed to appear before a Sindh Assembly committee investigating prolonged power outages in Karachi.

The special parliamentary committee had summoned the CEOs of K-Electric, Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO) to explain the continuing load-shedding. HESCO and SEPCO chiefs attended, while K-Electric sent a delegation led by its head of distribution.

Committee chairman Fayyaz Butt said lawmakers were dissatisfied with the K-Electric representatives and ordered them to leave the meeting. He said the committee would refer the matter to the Privileges Committee and could recommend penalties allowed under the law if the power crisis remained unresolved.

Butt also questioned the effectiveness of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra). He asked why the regulator did not cancel licences if it could not ensure that its orders were implemented.

The committee secretary told lawmakers that the assembly’s privileges powers could allow a sentence of up to six months’ imprisonment for a breach of privilege.

PPP lawmaker Saleem Baloch said the minutes should record the committee’s view that Nepra had failed to control K-Electric, HESCO and SEPCO. He also opposed the closure of feeders and PMTs, saying consumers who paid their electricity bills should not face power cuts.

Lawmakers also raised concerns about billing practices. PPP MPA Yousuf Baloch said official records showed an electricity meter registered in his name six years before he was born. He questioned how ordinary consumers could protect themselves against similar billing problems.

The committee’s meeting followed a formal notice from the Sindh Assembly requiring the CEOs of K-Electric, HESCO and SEPCO to attend the September 23 hearing.

Separately, K-Electric is facing a regulatory setback after the Nepra Appellate Tribunal dismissed its appeals against Nepra decisions issued on October 20, 2025.

K-Electric said the tribunal announced the decision verbally on Wednesday and that the written order had not yet been issued. The company said the ruling could have a “substantial adverse impact” on its Multi-Year Tariff for the FY2024-30 control period and said it would consider available legal remedies after receiving the detailed order.

Nepra’s own records show that it notified decisions on September 23 concerning K-Electric’s review applications involving its distribution, supply, transmission and generation tariff matters.

The two developments place K-Electric under pressure on both its operational performance in Karachi and its regulatory tariff framework, although the detailed tribunal ruling is still awaited.