ISLAMABAD, 3 September 2024 (TDI): Military leadership has started efforts to stabilize power sector by understanding its issues that could possibly be addressed.
Daily, The News reported that owners of some independent power producers (IPPs) met the top military leadership and presented proposals as how to reduce the power tariff to provide relief to masses and industrial sector, to boost economic activities.
Quoting unidentified sources the report added that the top military leadership was briefed by the private sector IPPs, saying the main issue is that the government power plants are getting Rs840 billion per year, and CPEC [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor] power plants getting Rs650 billion as capacity payments.
While the IPPS are being paid 130 billion at dollar’s value Rs 148. And the GPPs and CPEC PPs are getting billion of rupees at the value of dollar 278.
In this way the capacity payment for only one power plant in Sahiwal exceeds that of all payement to 2002 IPPs combined.
Similarly, capacity payment to GPPs including nuclear, hydel and RLNG were five times that of all IPPs in the past.
The owners of six to seven IPPs held separate meetings with the military leadership and updated them on issues of power sector, the report further said. Interesting no person from power division was reportedly present in the meeting.
They told the bosses of the military that the current policy is not benefitting even the government sector fully.
They explained in the meeting that in 2021, the US dollar value for the IPPs installed under 1994 and 2002 policies had been capped at Rs148, which was why, their capacity payments had reduced to Rs130 billion, and more importantly they had paid the maximum portion of the loans to their lenders.
They maintain that further pressure on IPPs will discourage investment in the country and would also affect all sectors in the economy.
