Former Caretaker Federal Minister Gohar Ejaz has urged Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to renegotiate their contracts to alleviate the financial burden on the nation.
Addressing the media, Ejaz called on the 40 families who own these IPPs to stand against the exploitative agreements, leaving it to the public to decide their fate.
Ejaz, who also serves as the Patron-in-Chief of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA), highlighted the exorbitant costs inflicted on the nation due to these contracts.
He revealed that the government has paid a staggering 1.95 trillion rupees to the most expensive IPPs. He cited examples of power plants charging up to Rs750 per unit, a stark contrast to the average 200 rupees per unit from coal power plants, and over 50 rupees per unit for wind and solar power.
"The payments to these costly IPPs amount to 1.95 trillion rupees," Ejaz stated, "with the government disbursing 140 billion rupees to a single plant operating at a 15% load factor, 120 billion to another at 17%, and 100 billion to a third at 22%." He pointed out that these three plants alone account for 370 billion rupees of the total expenditure.
Ejaz emphasised the need for accountability for those who receive billions of rupees monthly for idle power plants. He advocated for purchasing electricity solely from the cheapest providers, noting that 52% of these plants are government-owned, and 28% are privately owned, making 80% of them Pakistani-owned.
He attributed the inflated costs to corrupt contracts, mismanagement, and incompetence, resulting in electricity being sold at 60 rupees per unit.
"If the government's intentions are sincere, electricity prices can be reduced within 60 days," Ejaz asserted. He suggested that converting the capacity charge of a 200 billion rupee group into generated electricity could slash taxes on Pakistan's salaried class by 10%.
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