Islamabad:
A panel of the Senate was told Friday that provincial governments have not yet paid a total of RS161 billion that owes the federal government for electricity charges.
The Permanent Committee of the Senate on Power was convened on Friday to discuss key issues, including the adjustments of provincial power quotas through the National Finance Commission (NFC) and the privatization of energy distribution companies (DISC).
During the meeting, the president of the Committee, Senator Mohsin Aziz, said the provinces claim that the federal government has not eliminated pending quotas.
The officials of the power division declared that the provincial governments had not paid a total of RS161 billion. Punjab owes the federal government RS42 billion; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, RS10 billion; Sindh, RS68 billion and Baluchistan, RS42 billion.
The officials clarified that the amount is for the energy supplied to the provincial departments, while federal quotas can be related to Hydel energy adjustments.
The Minister of Power, Awais Leghari, said that the matter was recently discussed with the Ministry of Finance and that he has written to all provincial ministers for the settlement of quotas.
Leghari informed the committee that after the reconstitution of the disc boards, the losses have been reduced by RS140 billion as of March, and added that the government has assured the IMF to privatize discos.
“The role of the government is not to manage energy distribution companies. The objective is to privatize all discos within the next three years. In the first phase, three discos will be privatized. A financial advisor is already working in the process and has presented a due diligence report,” he said.
Leghari expressed his confidence that the privatization of the three companies will be completed within the next six months, although the president of the committee said it may be for June next year.
