ISLAMABAD (July 07 2009): The Supreme Court on Monday restrained National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) from increasing the proposed power tariff (17 percent or Rs 1.96 per unit) till the decision of the case. The court directed Nepra to submit details pertaining to the cost of power generation with a break-up of transmission and distribution tariff by July 23. The court also summoned specimen of an electricity bill in order to ascertain the number of additional surcharges being collected by the power companies. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry grilled power producers for their helplessness to overcome loadshedding saying their major source of power production was furnace oil and it has nothing to do with water situation in the rivers. He did mention loadshedding at his official residence and said: \'if a Chief Justice was unable to afford an alternate source of power in the form of generator, then how come a common man could do that.\' \'We know each and everything and do not compel the court to say something which it ought not to,\' the CJ said. A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui issued these directions while hearing a suo motu case regarding increase in power tariff. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on June 23 had taken a suo motu notice over the proposed plan to increase power tariff by a whopping 17 percent across the board, with the exception of lifeline consumers. On Monday, Shakeel Durance, Chairman, Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Khalid Saeed, Chairman, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and Salman Iqbal, Executive Directive, Pakistan Electric Power Company appeared before the court. Advocate Anwer Kamal representing Nepra and Pepco conceded the proposal pertaining to increase in power tariff by Rs 1.96 per unit. However, he linked the proposal with increase in prices of oil in the international market. The Chief Justice observed that whenever taxes are introduced or prices are increased an exercise of publicising is conducted to take the nation into confidence, adding that in this case it is missing. "We will not let you take decision while sitting in drawing rooms,\' observed the Chief Justice and suggested that the representatives of power sector go to district assemblies to evaluate public opinion. In addition, the CJ suggested conducting debates through the media on the subject. When the counsel for the power sector tried to highlight problems faced by it, the CJ observed: \'if you cannot fulfil the task, let private sector come in the competition and you will see the difference.\' Meanwhile, Syed Karamat Rizvi, Project Director, Energy Monitoring NWFP told this scribe that determination of tariff was a prerogative of provinces according to Article 157-4(d) the Constitution. He said that NWFP has challenged the same subject before the Islamabad High Court and had succeeded in securing a stay order restricting Nepra to increase power tariff for one year. The IHC stay order is valid till August 21, 2009, he added.