NEPRA Fines CPPA-G, NGC Rs50M for Blackout Negligence

ISLAMABAD: NEPRA has slammed Rs50 million fines — Rs25M each on CPPA-G and NGC — for criminal negligence that fueled the January 2021 nationwide blackout, plunging Pakistan into 20-hour darkness. An Inquiry Committee exposed systemic rot: power plants never submitted mandatory Operating Procedures, Black Start agreements unsigned, CPPA-G completed only 75 of 112 OPs, NGC just 73 of 117 — over a third pending years later. NEPRA ripped apart excuses: PPA disputes don’t justify internal chaos. Both violated Section 48 and Fine Regulations 2021 — pay within 15 days or face land revenue recovery. Message: Zero tolerance for grid-killing incompetence — accountability or more blackouts.