NEPRA Continues to Ridicule Honorable Court Orders and Openly Attacks KE Management

NEPRA Continues to Ridicule Honorable Court Orders and Openly Attacks KE Management

KARACHI – 21^st June, 2014: Reacting to a decision dated June 12, 2014 of NEPRA on fictitious complaints regarding alleged news items in the press on or about September 19 & 20, 2012 regarding so called bogus billing, KE clarified that NEPRA was acting in bad faith and contempt of court since the matter was already subjudice before the Hon’ble Sindh High Court in Suit No. 486/2014 in which NEPRA was a defendant and the court had specifically through its interim order dated March 26, 2014 prevented NEPRA from making any final orders without the permission of the court. Instead, NEPRA without any proof and purely on conjecture, had decided that KE had over billed its consumers which KE had already previously denied in the news media as early as October 2012 and also in writing to various forums.

Now, after a lapse of over two years NEPRA had created a work of fiction to fulfill its evil designs against KE. Reacting to the NEPRA impugned decision dated June 12, 2014, the Honorable Sind High Court has suspended the said decision immediately through a further order dated June 16 and issued contempt notices against all the parties who had signed the said decision as well as the Registrar, NEPRA for contempt of court. The High Court took serious notice of NEPRA’s arbitrary and unlawful behavior in acting in violation of due process through committing contempt of court and operating against the Honorable Court’s authority and jurisdiction to decide the matter. Company’s management is also looking at filing a suit for defamation and exemplary damages against NEPRA.

KE also pointed out that NEPRA’s malafides was also proven by the fact that till date NEPRA had not complied with binding directions of the Sindh High Court to issue Schedule of Tariffs (SOTs) in relation to KE.

KE spokesperson said that NEPRA has started a negative campaign which was started by Member Punjab NEPRA against the power utility and its management. KE warned that the effect of such negative behavior by NEPRA would discourage foreign investment in the energy sector. Instead of NEPRA acting as regulator, it had started taking pot shots and personal attacks on the Senior Management and Members of the Board of Directors of KE as well as attacking KE’s turnaround management and successful performance since privatization. This was in effect to undermine the value and good management practices that KE had instituted since 2009 to turn an ailing public sector institution into a well run internationally recognized public utility. KE (Abraaj Group’s Partner Company) had only in the past several days been awarded special recognition Award by International Finance Corporation in a ceremony in London, UK.