Sardar Sikander/Business Recorder/21-01-2020

ISLAMABAD: The Upper House of the Parliament on Monday unanimously passed ‘the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Bill, 2019,’ a private member bill moved by Leader of the House in Senate Shibli Faraz, which seeks to grant the provinces the powers to nominate their representatives in National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) without requiring the federal government’s approval. During the Senate’s session presided over by chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, Faraz presented the bill, which has already been passed by the relevant Senate standing committee. During voting on the bill, no one from the opposition benches opposed the bill leading to its unanimous passage. The bill would now land in the National Assembly seeking the Lower House’s nod before seeking the ascent of the President of Pakistan in order to become a law. The Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2019 seeks to amend the Section 3 (1) of the Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act 1997. The amended Section 3 (1) reads as: “Establishment of the Authority. -(1) As soon as may be, but not later than thirty days after thecommencement of this Act, the federal government shall, by notification in the official gazette, establish a National Electric Power Regulatory Authority consisting of a Chairman to be appointed by the Federal Government and four members, one from each province, to be appointed by the provincial governments.”