Cabinet gives nod to Sindh electric power regulatory authority

KARACHI: A session of the Sindh cabinet on Thursday decided to establish the Sindh Electric Power Regulatory Authority (SEPRA), ARY News reported.

Provincial Minister of Energy Imtiaz Shaikh, who had floated the idea in February this year, briefed the cabinet session chaired by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, about setting up the authority at the provincial level like the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).

“The constitution allows the province to establish a power regulatory authority,” energy minister said. “This authority is needed to move the energy projects forward,” the cabinet members said.

Provincial cabinet constituted a committee of the law and energy departments to prepare a legislative bill of the authority in view of the constitutional, legal and technical aspects of the issue.

The authority would be mandated to regulate the power generation and licensing process. The law also allows the authority to monitor power distribution in the province.

The SEPRA will grant approval of the wind and other power projects in Sindh.

Imtiaz Shaikh earlier said that the SEPRA will fix the tariff and power price in Sindh. “We won’t disturb the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) under the NEPRA,” the minister said. “We are aimed at providing cheaper energy to the province,” he added.