Senate panel summons ministry officials

ISLAMABAD: The Senate committee on water and power has taken notice of the news published in the December 22 edition of The News and Jang titled ‘Refusal to get electricity from two IPPs causes Rs21 billion loss’ and to this effect has convened an emergency meeting today (Tuesday) and has summoned the chairman of PPIB (Private Power Infrastructure Board) and top officials of the ministry of water and power.
The national exchequer has suffered this loss due to refusal of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) to get much cheaper electricity from two IPPs installed in Raiwind - Sepcol and Japan Power having capacity to generate 230MW of electricity. Instead it purchased electricity from the public sector Gencos that produce electricity at the rate of Rs18.50 per unit.
According to NTDC, the hydro generation has tumbled to 1500 MW in the wake of canal closure and the government has started generating costly electricity using diesel as fuel.
The government seems ready to purchase costly electricity from the rental power plants on ‘take and pay’ basis, but is not willing to buy cheaper electricity.
State minister for water and power Chaudhry Abid Sher Ali says that since the Ministry of Water and Power and its companies are in litigation with the said two power plants that is why electricity is not being purchased from them. “However, once the litigation is over, we will start purchasing electricity,” he said.