Top officials of the National Electric and Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) have significantly increased their remunerations, without mandatory approval by the federal cabinet
The increase has come at a time when the power sector is facing massive technical, commercial and distribution losses.
The chairperson and members of all the regulatory bodies are normally entitled to a maximum Management Position (MP) scale I with basic pay of Rs629,000 to Rs772,780 per month.
The Nepra officials have approved almost a three times hike in their remunerations.
The regulatory body was sent a detailed questionnaire on Feb 10 seeking comment on the salary revisions and whether the government’s approval was sought, but no response was received, despite multiple reminders.
The total gross salary of the Nepra chairperson has increased to almost Rs3.25m and of its officials to around Rs2.95m.
The revised remuneration package includes a basic pay of Rs700,000 to Rs773,000. In addition, the Nepra officials have approved Rs631,000 to 700,000 per month ‘regulatory allowance’ for themselves on the pattern of judicial allowance for judges.
They have also secured an ad hoc relief for 2024 of Rs587,000 to Rs650,000.
On top of that, they have also become eligible for ad hoc relief for 2023 at the rate of Rs544,000 to Rs600,000.
They also draw house rent allowance of Rs176,000 to Rs206,000 per month besides Rs105,150 to Rs116,000 as ad hoc relief for 2022 and Rs70,000 to Rs77,300 as ad hoc relief for 2021.
Their other perks include car monetisation of Rs96,000 and utility allowance of Rs32,000 to Rs35,000.
Their cumulative salary package has now touched Rs2.95m to Rs3.25m, even higher than superior court judges.
Govt approval
The salary, perks and privileges for the Nepra chairperson and members are outlined in Section 8 of the Nepra Act, 1997.
“The Chairman and Members of the Authority shall be eligible for such remuneration and allowances as the Authority may, with the approval of the Federal Government, determine,” said the provision.
However, sources told these revisions were made without the government’s approval.
Section 8 of Nepra Act also states that the remuneration and allowances of the chairperson and members will account for their “specialised nature of work” and to ensure competitive salaries paid in the private sector.
Most Nepra members and chairpersons are usually retired bureaucrats whose last drawn gross salaries in service range between Rs600,000 to Rs700,000.
Currently, the Nepra chairperson and two members — from KP and Balochistan — are retired bureaucrats.
After the revision, the total gross salaries of four Nepra members and the chairperson have increased to more than four times their final salaries as government officials.
Sources said a Nepra official convinced the incumbent chairperson and members that they had the power to increase their remunerations without the government’s approval.
This pay hike has also created a discrepancy among the officials of Nepra and other regulators, who were being remunerated under the MP scale as notified by the Ministry of Finance.
The only exemption to this rule was the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority chairperson who was drawing a salary under the special professional pay scale — all-inclusive maximum remuneration between Rs1.5m and Rs2m.
