Karachi/Islamabad:
The former Minister of Finance and the Secretary General of the Awam Pakistan Party (APP), Miftah Ismail, fired a wide side against the government’s solarization policy and the Tax on Net Measurement, causing the shock refutation of the Minister of Power, Awais Leghari, Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference at the Karachi party office, Ishmail accused the prime minister to take the change of U in the solarization policy, saying that the government first encouraged people to install solar meters at home, but now the net measurement was abolished and replaced by gross measurement.
In response, Leghari declared that Imail’s criticisms were based on “false and unfounded figures,” added that due to government policies, shared solar energy has reached 4,000 MW, which would increase to 12,000 MW in the next eight years.
Ismail told journalists that the government lied when he said that solar energy users are obtaining free electricity. “Now, people have been told that the sales tax would fall on all units produced through solar panels,” he added.
“This will increase the electricity bill and the public will not obtain the benefit of solar energy,” said former finance minister. “This strategy is a reversal of federal government policies, which is a kind of change of meaning,” added the leader of the AAP.
Ismail said that the coalition government led by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) was finding the intake of 1,300 electricity gigawats of the electricity of public users or solar energy a load, but added that it could not see the waste of electricity during production and distribution.
“In fact, only a dozen people in Pakistan are a burden to the public and the country because they have made electricity very expensive in Pakistan,” he said, mentioning the purchase of electricity at an exorbitant rate of independent energy producers (IPP).
Ismail also blamed the government for the increase in sugar prices. He also criticized the Popular Party of Pakistan (PPP) for opposing the channels, saying that PPP was struggling to save their voting bank. He said that people were not provided with real water data.
“I ask my brother Bilawal Bhutto and my sister Maryam Nawaz, what happened to the ads during the electoral campaigns about providing free electricity of up to 200 and 300 units,” Ismail told journalists.
Later, in a statement, Leghari said that Miftah Ismail was trying to deceive people presenting “false and unfounded figures.” He added that the government encouraged the public to install solar panels. “The contracts of existing net measurement users will remain according to old rates,” Leghari said.
“In many countries, the price of net measurement is adjusted so that there is no unnecessary burden on the national network and the economy. With mutual consent and consultation, IPPS contracts have been reviewed, resulting in saving 1,500 billion rupees,” said the minister.
Last year, the participation of clean energy in the national network, including Hydel, Solar, Wind and Nuclear energy, was more than 55%, he continued. In the coming years, the clean green energy ratio would reach 85%. “Pakistan should be proud to have a clean green energy grid,” said the minister.
