Chairman, NEPRA at the Latest 'Leaders at LUMS' Session

Chairman of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), Mr. Tauseef H. Farooqi (MBA 1996) shared his personal and professional journey, and the life lessons he learnt along the way. Held on December 14, 2021, the session shed light on his experience within NEPRA and the power, water and energy sectors of Pakistan and UAE. Moderated by Dr. Alnoor Bhimani, Honorary Dean, Suleman Dawood School of Business, the conversation also covered the CSR initiatives undertaken by NEPRA in recent years.

Mr. Farooqi is an Electrical Engineer from UET Lahore, and during his MBA at LUMS, he was awarded the meritorious Asian Development Bank Scholarship. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the power sector in Pakistan and the UAE. 

His career started with WAPDA in 1991 and he has since then worked for various global companies on multi-billion-dollar projects such as the International Power, UK on Pakistan’s largest Kot Addu power plant. Mr. Farooqi has developed the top three IWPP projects in Abu Dhabi, working with CMS Energy of USA on Taweelah A2, and Shuweihat. He also has experience with Marubeni of Japan on their largest investment outside Japan in Taweelah B, Abu Dhabi's largest power plant.

Dr. Bhimani asked Mr. Farooqi about the biggest challenge he has faced within NEPRA, Pakistan’s federal power sector regulator, overseeing licensing, generation, transmission, and distribution. “The most difficult part of my job was to change the status quo. I wanted to be a change agent for the organisation, and to be one there is a long way to go. Every day there are challenges that are new in nature and on solving those, we are moving towards our goal inch by inch.”

Mr. Farooqi recently set up a CSR department in 2020 with a focus on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concerning education, health, employment & skills development, women empowerment, environment, and clean water and sanitation. NEPRA has already conducted various CSR drives, but has also taken initiatives to increase gender equity within the organisation. “Forty per cent of the female staff at NEPRA has been hired by me in the last two years, and each of them has opportunities equal to any NEPRA employee,” he said.

Towards the end, Dr. Bhimani asked Mr. Farooqi on what experiences he would want to be remembered for, to which he replied, “I wish to take NEPRA to the heights it deserves and I would also like to give a voice to every single employee of NEPRA, where they stand for the right cause. Furthermore, my goal is to reduce the price of electricity, remove the existing inefficiencies in the system and undertake new initiatives in the renewable energy sector of Pakistan.”

At the end of the session, Dr. Alnoor Bhimani presented a shield and thanked Mr. Farooqi for his time and lauded the initiatives he has undertaken at NEPRA. 

The latest session of Leaders at LUMS can be viewed here.