Senior officials at the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) have controversially increased their salaries up to four times, without obtaining approval from the federal cabinet. The Chairman’s salary has risen to Rs. 3.25 million, while the members now earn Rs. 2.95 million, surpassing the pay of superior court judges.
The salary increase includes a basic pay raise from Rs. 700,000 to Rs. 773,000, a regulatory allowance between Rs. 631,000 to Rs. 700,000, and ad hoc reliefs for 2021-2024 amounting to over Rs. 1.9 million. Additional benefits such as house rent (Rs. 176,000 to Rs. 206,000), car monetization (Rs. 96,000), and utility allowances (Rs. 32,000 to Rs. 35,000) have also been granted.
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Despite the NEPRA Act of 1997 requiring federal government approval for such salary revisions, the increase was implemented without following proper procedures. This decision has intensified pay disparities within regulatory bodies, while other NEPRA officials and regulators continue to follow the Management Position (MP) scale set by the Finance Ministry.
