AIRLINK 62.48 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (3.39%)
BOP 5.36 Increased By ▲ 0.01 (0.19%)
CNERGY 4.58 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.43%)
DFML 15.50 Increased By ▲ 0.66 (4.45%)
DGKC 66.40 Increased By ▲ 1.60 (2.47%)
FCCL 17.59 Increased By ▲ 0.73 (4.33%)
FFBL 27.70 Increased By ▲ 2.95 (11.92%)
FFL 9.27 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (2.32%)
GGL 10.06 Increased By ▲ 0.10 (1%)
HBL 105.70 Increased By ▲ 1.49 (1.43%)
HUBC 122.30 Increased By ▲ 4.78 (4.07%)
HUMNL 6.60 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.92%)
KEL 4.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.05 (-1.1%)
KOSM 4.48 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.97%)
MLCF 36.20 Increased By ▲ 0.79 (2.23%)
OGDC 122.92 Increased By ▲ 0.53 (0.43%)
PAEL 23.00 Increased By ▲ 1.09 (4.97%)
PIAA 29.34 Increased By ▲ 2.05 (7.51%)
PIBTL 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-2.36%)
PPL 107.50 Increased By ▲ 0.13 (0.12%)
PRL 27.25 Increased By ▲ 0.74 (2.79%)
PTC 18.07 Increased By ▲ 1.97 (12.24%)
SEARL 53.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.63 (-1.17%)
SNGP 63.21 Increased By ▲ 2.01 (3.28%)
SSGC 10.80 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.47%)
TELE 9.20 Increased By ▲ 0.71 (8.36%)
TPLP 11.44 Increased By ▲ 0.86 (8.13%)
TRG 70.86 Increased By ▲ 0.95 (1.36%)
UNITY 23.62 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.47%)
WTL 1.28 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
BR100 6,944 Increased By 65.8 (0.96%)
BR30 22,827 Increased By 258.6 (1.15%)
KSE100 67,142 Increased By 594.3 (0.89%)
KSE30 22,090 Increased By 175.1 (0.8%)

This op-ed examines the legal aspects of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA or the Authority) Determination issued on May 31, 2022 concerning the unlawful granting of a Market Operator (MO) license to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G).

Under Section 23A of the NEPRA Act, 1997 (hereafter, the Act), the NEPRA may issue an MO license to a person (association, company, firm or undertaking, authority or body corporate set up or controlled by the Federal Government or, as the case may be, by the Provincial Government).

The “Market Operator,” as defined under the Act, means a person responsible for organization and administration of trade in electricity and payment settlements among generator licensees and consumers. Under Section 1(3) of the Act, along with other three sections, 23A would only be effective through Federal Government notification, which has not yet been issued.

Moreover, an MO license is issued subject to the Rules and Regulations, which have yet to be notified. However, NEPRA has erred in issuing the MO license to the CPPA-G, first in the absence of the required legal framework and secondly, because the CPPA-G is currently the power-purchasing agency against the clear requirements of the Act and the approved Competitive Trading through Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) detailed design and implementation roadmap by NEPRA on 12th November 2020. One of the actions in the approved CTBCM design is the separation of the CPPA-G into Market Operator and Special Purpose Trader, which is yet to be complied with. Furthermore, the draft Commercial Code, which is section 23A, requirement submitted by the CPPA-G along with its application has yet to be finalized as per the statement of the CPPA-G recorded in the said Determination.

Under the Act, before awarding an MO license, the Authority has to consider the following: (1) the Eligibility criteria Rules, which have yet to be issued by the Federal Government) and (2) the Regulations, which should be consistent with the Rules, setting out the terms and conditions for the Licensee.

By issuing a “Trial” MO license to the CPPA-G (a permit) in the absence of the required legal framework against which the applicant for an MO license has to be assessed, NEPRA has clearly violated its own past determinations, namely, the CTBCM design and its own law. The NEPRA Chairman is calling it a landmark judgment. Surely, it is a landmark decision of issuing permits to the entity on a “trial” basis, with no legal effect. One has to question the legality and the overall working of the Power Sector Regulator of issuing licences on an arbitrary basis.

Considering the subject matter, it is highly recommended to regulate the regulator and appoint an independent-minded person to lead the Authority before it is too late to curtail the “illegal” mess the Authority has been creating, while ticking its checklist in the hope of any tenure extensions!

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022

Maria Rafique

The writer is a lawyer based in Islamabad. She has an LL.M. from Cornell Law School. She can be reached at [email protected]

Comments

Comments are closed.

Safdar Iqbal Oct 05, 2022 09:35am
Dear Maria, very rightly you have pointed out the legally of the issuance of MO license without having its Rules & Regulations. Without R&R how can a regulator defend and offend its cases in the court of law?
thumb_up Recommended (0)
Moin Fudda Oct 05, 2022 01:21pm
Thanks for educating and highlighting the issue.
thumb_up Recommended (0)