NEPRA Approves Salary Increase and Bonus for CPPA Employees

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has approved salary increases, performance-based increments, and bonuses for employees of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) for the 2025–26 fiscal year.

According to NEPRA’s decision on the Market Operation Fee for FY2025–26, employees will receive a 4.49 percent salary increase in line with inflation, along with a 6 percent performance-based increment, bringing the total approved increase to 10.49 percent.

The regulator approved a budget of Rs1.58 billion for employee salaries and Rs249 million for benefits and allowances.

CPPA-G had requested Rs199 million for employee bonuses. However, NEPRA reduced the amount and approved only Rs55.6 million, equivalent to one basic salary for eligible employees.

The regulator also partially rejected the company’s recruitment plan. It approved Rs109.7 million for the salaries of 26 employees who had already been hired, while making any future recruitment subject to separate regulatory approval.

Similarly, NEPRA approved Rs8.5 million for staff training instead of the requested Rs32 million. Requests to hire headhunting firms, consultants, and compensation survey advisers were rejected.

The regulator further reduced the company’s administrative budget from Rs316 million to Rs271.1 million, including cuts to communication, audit, and insurance expenses.

In addition, the budget requested for IT services and vehicle maintenance was reduced from Rs241 million to Rs137 million.

NEPRA emphasized that, amid Pakistan’s ongoing electricity sector challenges, consumers should not be burdened with additional costs, and regulatory approvals would continue to focus on protecting electricity users while allowing only justified operational expenditures.