Nepra Officials Raise Salaries Without Government Approval

The National Electric and Power Regulatory Authority, without any government approval, increased the top official’s salaries.

Massive salary hike in Nepra without cabinet approval:

The National Electric and Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has increased the salaries of its officials without approval from the federal government. The decision to increase salaries comes at a time when Pakistan’s power sector is struggling. The country faces huge losses in power distribution, technical faults, and commercial inefficiencies. Nepra officials focused on increasing their earnings instead of addressing these issues.

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NEPRA officials earning:

The chairperson and members of all regulatory bodies follow the Management Position (MP) Scale I. Their basic salary ranges from Rs 629,000 to Rs 772,780 per month. In addition, they receive house rent and utility allowance. With these perks, their total pay package falls between Rs 800,000 and Rs 1 million per month.

Salaries higher than Supreme Court Judges:

After these raises, Nepra officials now earn more than superior court judges in Pakistan. This excessive pay increase has created a major gap between Nepra officials and employees of other regulatory bodies. Nepra’s hike stands in contrast to government-notified salary scales. 

Internal pressure led to the pay raise:

According to sources, Nepra officials convinced the Chairperson to increase their salaries and claimed that they did not need the government’s approval to do so. This move has frustrated employees of other regulatory bodies. While Nepra officials enjoy massive salary increases, other regulators remain restricted to the MP scale set by the government.

Lack of response from Nepra:

On February 10, a detailed questionnaire was sent to Nepra. The inquiry sought clarification on the pay raises and whether government approval was obtained. Despite multiple reminders, Nepra has not responded. Their silence raises further concerns about the legality of these salary revisions.