- Power Minister Awais Leghari briefs Senate Standing Committee.
- He says the government's task force has thoroughly assessed IPP quotas.
- Parliamentary panel discusses overbilling problem faced by masses.
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari has said that the masses will get relief in electricity tariffs in the coming weeks as the Power Sector Task Force has completed its review of Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and state-owned power plants. The news reported on Saturday.
“The committee has been provided with all necessary information on the IPPs […] “We will soon share the good news on IPPs with the public,” Leghari said during a briefing before the Senate Standing Committee on Energy.
The minister's comments come at a time when the coalition government led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is under fire for sky-high electricity tariffs that have further burdened the inflation-weary masses.
Following criticism over IPPs, the government has been renegotiating contracts with power producers to control “unsustainable” electricity tariffs, the highest in the region.
The announcement on tariff relief follows the Power Division's earlier statement on relief of up to Rs2.65 (including taxes) on electricity bills for September courtesy of fuel adjustments.
Combining both the adjustments, agricultural and domestic consumers using up to 300 units would get a relief of Rs2.19 per unit on their September bills, while Rs2.65 per unit (including taxes) would be provided to other consumers, the Power Division said.
Elaborating on the measures taken by the government, Leghari informed the Senate committee, chaired by Senator Mohsin Aziz, that the task force had conducted a thorough assessment of the return on equity (ROE), operation and maintenance (O&M) costs and outstanding dues of the IPPs.
Noting that the review also included a thorough assessment of investment technology and associated costs for each plant, he said: “All work is being carried out with the trust and consent of the IPPs.”
Further announcements on the progress of the IPPs will be made in the coming weeks, the Minister said.
During the meeting, the forum addressed a major public concern related to over-billing of electricity, which was raised by Senator Palwasha Muhammad Zai Khan at the meeting on August 30. The senator had criticised the indifference of officials towards consumer complaints and shared the experience of her family, who had to visit the electricity office 28 times in three months due to incorrect meter readings.
Senator Palwasha condemned the conduct of the officials, comparing it to mafia-like behaviour, and called for stern action against those responsible. She proposed to refer the matter to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to dismantle the alleged group responsible for the malpractice and set a precedent for accountability.
Committee chairman Senator Mohsin Aziz acknowledged the senator's concerns and agreed that the issue was of public importance and likely indicative of a wider problem, while a senior official at the Energy Division confirmed that action had already been taken, including the transfer of the employee responsible for the faulty meter readings.
In response, Leghari said the senator's concerns relate to customer service, which is not directly part of the electricity distribution companies.
On another note, committee chairman Senator Aziz stressed the urgent need to address electricity theft and over-billing, and directed the Power Division to clarify inconsistencies in reporting on independent power producers using bagasse and their tariff structures. He expressed concern over the price of bagasse, suggesting that its historical valuation has led to its exploitation.
“We don't have a price for bagasse,” National Electricity Regulatory Authority (Nepra) Chairman Waseem Mukhtar told the committee, though he acknowledged that the authority determines tariffs for bagasse-based power plants.
It should be noted that Pakistan's eight bagasse-based IPPs, with a combined capacity of 259.28 megawatts, are operating under the 2006 energy policy, with agreements set to expire between 2044 and 2049.
In addition, the parliamentary panel also reviewed a detailed report on power outage and electricity distribution by Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and Sukkur Electric Supply Company (Sepco).
