The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has taken strict action against power companies over safety lapses. Nepra imposes fines worth Rs975 million on distribution companies and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) for fatal and non-fatal accidents during the past seven years.
However, recovery of these fines remains very low. According to official data, the regulator has collected only Rs45.5 million so far. This means less than 5 percent of the total fines have been recovered.
The data shows Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) faced the highest penalty of Rs310 million. Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) was fined Rs117 million. K-Electric faced fines of Rs95.5 million spread over different years.
Out of the total Rs975 million, fines worth Rs635 million were related to fatal accidents. Another Rs330 million were linked to non-fatal accidents, while NTDC was fined Rs10 million. Despite this, Nepra has recovered only Rs45.5 million under fatal accident fines. A large portion, Rs589.5 million, is still under litigation in courts and tribunals.
Interestingly, no recovery has been made from fines imposed for non-fatal accidents. Similarly, the Rs10 million fine on NTDC remains unpaid. Other distribution companies also faced heavy penalties. LESCO was fined Rs86 million, PESCO Rs85 million, MEPCO Rs61 million, GEPCO Rs54 million, SEPCO Rs53 million, FESCO Rs51 million, and QESCO Rs42.5 million.
In fatal cases, IESCO was fined Rs100 million, followed by K-Electric with Rs95.5 million, HESCO with Rs87 million, and LESCO with Rs76 million. The rest of the companies faced penalties ranging between Rs20 million and Rs51 million.
Nepra imposes such fines to ensure compliance with safety rules and accountability. But the slow recovery of these penalties highlights weak enforcement and ongoing risks within the power sector.
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