Power Division Minister Awais Leghari said on Thursday that the government’s savings after negotiating the agreements with the independent power producers (IPPs) topped Rs.1.1 trillion as he reiterated his resolve to take all possible measures to ease the public.

Addressing the closing session of the 4th International Hydropower Conference, the minister said people could no longer afford to pay the exorbitant electricity bills; therefore, the government wanted to renew the entire electricity sector.

The International Hydropower Conference was jointly organized by Energy Updates in collaboration with the Private Power 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. Describing uniform tariff for the entire country as a major challenge, he said it was unfair to transfer the burden from one company to another.

Talks with the IMF

Speaking to mediapersons at the Parliament House, Leghari said that the impact of negotiations with 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 by Rs10 to 12 per unit.

“All agreements with the IPPs will be reviewed, after the review, people will save a lot. The agreements with another 15 IPPs will be taken to the cabinet,” he said after attending the meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Power. .

The minister told the committee that 75% of the total cost of electricity came in the form of capacity charges. He also drew the committee’s attention to efforts to eradicate the “kunda culture” – the term used for theft of electricity.

NA panel

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy was told on Thursday that the purpose of imposing fixed charges on consumers is to cover capacity payments, which currently exceed Rs 2 trillion. annually.

Union Energy Minister Owais Leghari appeared before the panel that residential customers have already received a relief of Rs 4 in electricity tariff. He said agreements with five independent power producers (IPPs) have been terminated while discussions with sixteen IPPs are ongoing. The minister said the cabinet has approved the revised tariff for eight bagasse plants.

The meeting, chaired by MNA Muhammad Idris, included a briefing by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) officials who said 75% of the total cost of electricity includes capacity charges.

Malik Anwar Taj, a committee member, suggested that if such high capacity payments are made, the government should provide free electricity to the public. He also criticized ongoing load shedding and delays in development projects in his constituency.

Minister Leghari highlighted ongoing efforts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), including agreements to provide uninterrupted electricity to high-theft feeders, resulting in Rs6 billion in additional losses due to non-cooperation in removing illegal connections.