Decision on IPPs’ dues: NTDC to consult Power, Finance ministries

Tuesday, 17 July 2012 11:32

Posted by Imaduddin

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RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) will consult the Ministries of Water & Power and Finance before taking any decision about payment of dues to Independent Power Producers (IPPs).

A meeting with eight IPPs organized by NTDC on Monday on the directives of the Supreme Court to resolve the issue of their outstanding dues concluded without any decision.

The meeting was headed by Managing Director NTDC, Naveed Ismail, and joined by a legal team of Private Power Infrastructure Board (PPIB), wherein the council of IPPs was told that the final decision regarding their payments will be made after due consultations with the Ministries of Water and Power and Finance. “We have told the meeting that we are unable to generate power because we don’t have money to buy fuel, thus the penalty imposed by the government in this regard is illogical,” said a representative of the council of IPPs. The SC directed the NTDC to resolve the issue before July 25 on a writ petition filed by eight IPPs over non-payment of their outstanding dues of Rs. 61.401 billion by the government.

Following a sane advice of the SC’s bench in the last hearing to resolve the issue in the best interest of the nation, public and the government, NTDC promised to come up with a solution on the next hearing on July 25.

A set of eight IPPs moved SC against non payment of their Rs 61.401 billion from the government despite invoking the sovereign guarantee which GOP defaulted. This amount includes the capacity payment of Rs 19.379 billion, energy payment of Rs 37.846 billion, and other payments of Rs 4.176 billion.

The council of eight IIPs that filed the petition included Liberty Tech, Orient Power, Atlas Power, Nishat Power, Nishat Chunian, Saif Power, Halmore Power, and Sapphire Electric for payment of the outstanding dues of Rs 11.131 billion, Rs 4.121 billion, Rs 10.478 billion, Rs 9.661 billion, Rs 10.899 billion, Rs 5.722 billion, Rs 2.415 billion and Rs 6.974 billion, respectively.