ISLAMABAD:
Energy Division Minister Awais Leghari said on Thursday that the government’s savings after negotiations on agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) exceeded Rp 1.1 trillion, and reiterated his determination to take all possible measures to facilitate the public.
In his closing speech at the 4th International Conference on Hydropower, the minister said people can no longer afford to pay exorbitant electricity bills; Therefore, the government was going to renew the entire electricity sector.
The International Hydropower Conference was jointly organized by Energy Updates in collaboration with Private Electricity Infrastructure Board (PPIB), Wapda and other stakeholders.
Leghari said the government was reviewing various taxes included in electricity bills to provide maximum relief to consumers. Calling the uniform tariff for the entire country a major challenge, he said shifting the burden from one company to another was unfair.
Talks with the IMF
Speaking to media representatives in Parliament, Leghari said the impact of the negotiations with the IPPs had reached the common man, and now the government was talking to the IMF to convince it that the electricity tariff could be reduced from Rs 10 to Rs 12. rupees per unit.
“All the agreements with the PPIs will be reviewed, after the review people will save a lot. The agreements with 15 more PPIs will be taken to the cabinet,” he said, after attending the meeting of the Standing Committee on Energy of the National Assembly. .
The minister told the committee that 75% of the total cost of electricity came from capacity charges. He also briefed the committee on efforts to eliminate “Kunda culture,” a term used to refer to electricity theft.
NA panel
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy was informed on Thursday that the purpose of imposing fixed charges on consumers is to cover capacity payments, which currently exceed Rs 2 trillion a year.
Addressing the panel, Federal Minister for Energy Owais Leghari said that residential consumers have already received a relief of Rs 4 in electricity tariff. It said agreements with five independent power producers (IPPs) have been terminated while talks are ongoing with sixteen IPPs. The minister said the cabinet approved the revised tariff for eight bagasse plants.
The meeting, chaired by MNA Muhammad Idris, included a briefing by officials of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), who stated that 75% of the total cost of electricity comprises capacity charges.
Committee member Malik Anwar Taj suggested that if such high capacity payments are made, the government should provide free electricity to the public. He also criticized the current load shedding and delays in development projects in his constituency.
Minister Leghari highlighted ongoing efforts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including deals to provide uninterrupted electricity to high-theft feeders, which resulted in additional losses of Rs 6 billion due to lack of cooperation to remove illegal connections .
