‘All power projects to be audited’

ISLAMABAD: Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry says the government has decided to audit all the power projects launched by the former PML-N government.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Fawad said the ex-PML-N government had signed expensive agreements for power generation adding that the Quaid-e-Azam solar plant was the most expensive in the world.

"The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has initiated an inquiry against the LNG plants set up in the Punjab province," he said. He said the government had decided to conduct an audit of all the power plants in the country, and in this regard it was already auditing two power plants.

"During its last two years, the PML-N government increased the power tariff to Rs15.53 per unit. The electricity which was generated at that cost is being sold to the people for Rs11.71 per unit.”

Claiming that the PML-N carried out "criminal acts," he said they took decisions and huge loans without any economic plans. "The way the PML-N played with the institutions needs to be brought forward," he said.

He said it was not fair to blame the PTI government for the failed policies of PML-N. He vowed that there will be no compromise on accountability, as it was not the government but the nation’s decision to hold corrupt people accountable.

He said when calls for accountability were made, some friends suggested that the PTI government should not go against the opposition parties. “When everything has to run like this, then what is the need for the PTI to be in power?” he asked.

“Whenever accountability is talked about, democracy gets in danger. People are not even aware and billions are being discovered in their accounts.” He said the government was taking steps against money laundering and to increase investment in the country.

Claiming that a loss of Rs2.63 was being incurred on every unit of electricity, Chaudhry said during the winter and summer, the government was facing a loss of Rs3 billion on a daily basis due to which the circular debt increased by Rs34 billion per year.

Chaudhry clarified that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) determined the power tariff and was created by the previous governments, not the PTI government. “Nepra informed us that we should increase the prices of electricity or incur a loss on a daily basis,” he said, adding that the demand for electricity stood at 14,000MW on Tuesday.

“We tried our best to ensure that poor people were not affected by the hike in gas prices and are striving to fix things.” The information minister also clarified that no decision on hiking the power tariff was taken during the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) meeting.

"Federal Minister for Energy Umar Ayub is out of town and a decision will be taken during the next ECC meeting," he added. He also stated that the premier will take the nation into confidence on all matters soon. "Pakistan's future is bright and there will be good news soon."

Commenting on the by-polls, Fawad said the PTI had set a new example of impartiality, as no minister had visited any constituency. He said all parties were allied against the PTI candidates but still they could not defeat its candidates and the PTI secured the most seats," he concluded.

Meanwhile, welcoming the government’s decision to conduct an audit of all the power plants set up by the former PML-N government, former finance minister Miftah Ismail asked the rulers to also audit the affairs of 300 power projects launched for the KP.

He said the audit teams should comprise neutral experts. Miftah said the Peshawar Electric Supply Corporation (Pesco) only made 52 percent payment for power consumption. He said it would be a huge injustice to pass the burden of 48 percent power theft on to 52 percent people who were paying their bills regularly.

He asked how the PTI government could burden the people with line and transmission losses. “Had we been in government and gone to the IMF for a bailout, the PTI would have criticized us but today they are going to the bank for loans. Now Finance Minister Asad says his predecessor Ishaq Dar had made the right decision to go to the IMF.

Miftah said the people had given their verdict against the two-month rule of PTI in the by-elections. He said the PML-N government had set up two power plants with own resources while two were funded by China. “It is because of these plants that today there is no power shortage today. The government should avoid overburdening the masses.”