Power sector: Experts term Rs 960.55 million revenue requirement by CPPA-G unjustified

The power sector experts have objected to a petition of Central Power Purchase Agency-Guarantee (CPPA-G) for determination of its Market Operation Fee for the fiscal year 2018-19, saying that the revenue requirement of Rs 960.55 million of CPPA-G for the said fiscal year is unjustified and merits dismissal.
The power sector experts have pointed out that the DISCO consumers are already under tremendous pressure because of high tariff. This petition of CPPA-G taxes them more because the expenditure enshrined in the petition is not justified.
CPPA-G may not be allowed to indulge in luxuries like sports, recreation, entertainment, fitness center, participation in international conferences, outsourcing of media consultant, design and renovation consultant, BPR consultant and other services relevant to recruitment at the cost of hapless consumers. They must exercise austerity.
It may be noted that the CPPA-G has filed a petition for increase of Market Operation Fee from Rs 1.6592/Kw per month to Rs 2.3812/Kw per month for the FY 2018-19. It has requested an increase of about 30.32%. The escalation will adversely affect finances in particular and other consumers of the distribution companies (DISCOs) in general.
The CPPA-G has sanctioned strength of 227 employees but there is no mentioned that how many of them are working at present. Meanwhile, their HR department has desired to fill in another 53 positions in various departments. When CPPA-G was working under NTDCL, it had around 215 employees and CPPA-G was performing the same functions. Furthermore, there were no out sources of any activity. NEPRA had advised to reduce the expenditure when it was working under NTDCL.
According to the experts, the revenue requirement projected is highly ambitious, luxurious and unjustified. Also, they said, the approved budget for the FY 2017-18 was Rs 752.07 million and the actual expenditure was Rs 539.99 million.
Demanding Rs 654.80 million for the FY 2018-19 is not justified because actual expenditure in the last fiscal year was Rs 212.08 million less than the budget. Ten months of the FY 2018-19 has elapsed and no new appointments have been made. If 10% increase as allowed by the government in FY 2018-19 is accounted for, it comes to Rs 539.99 + 10%, which comes around Rs 593.99 million.
The demand of Rs 654.80 million raised by CPPA-G is therefore unjustified.
They said the approved budget for the FY 2017-18 was Rs 19.12 million and the actual expenditure was Rs 17.98 million. Demanding Rs 31.49 million under this head is not justified. The approved budget for the FY 2017-18 was Rs 855.88 million and the actual expenditure was Rs 645.39 million. Demanding Rs 821.65 million under this head is not justified.
The employees were given benefits for FY 2017-18 to the tune of Rs 68.14 million while the benefits demanded for FY 2018-19 are Rs 81.23 million. When the employees are given all the benefits, there was no justification to give a bonus of Rs 17.70 million. CPPA-G is not a profit earning organization that it gave bonus to the employees out of profit. There is no justification to give a bonus of Rs 21.96 million for the FY 2018-19. Reportedly, employees of Ministry of Energy (Power Division) have also been awarded bonus in the FY 2017-18.
CEO CPPA-G may please be advised to submit the list of officers / officials with amount, who received bonus and it was booked to which head.
They said there is no logic to maintain three offices by CPPA-G. Two offices in Lahore, one in WAPDA House and other in sunny view carry no justification. It is an unjustified expenditure, which must be immediately stopped. It is done so to keep their blue eyed on their home stations. It is not covered under any principles of justice that the consumers should pay for the sports & recreation / entertainment of CPPA-G.