ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has constituted a 14-member inter-provincial committee of financial and technical experts, to find out of the box solution to the longstanding dispute on Net Hydel Profit (NHP) between the federal government and KP, well informed sources told Business Recorder.
The members of the committee are as follows; (i) Water Resources Division- Syed Mehar Ali Shah, JS (Water) technical expert- Naveed Asghar Ch Member Finance, (Wapda) financial expert; (ii) Power Division- Mahfooz Ahmed Bhatti, JS Power Finance, (technical expert), Rihan Akhtar, CFO, CPPA-G (financial expert); (iii) Finance Division- Anwar Sheikh, AFS (financial expert); (iv) Planning, Development & Special Initiatives- Waqas Bin Najib, Member Energy (technical expert)- Afia Malik, senior research economic, PIDE (financial expert); (v) Punjab- Tariq Bajwa, ex-Governor SBP (financial expert)- Aamir Jan, Secretary Energy (technical expert); (vi) Sindh- Ashfaq Memon, Special Assistant to CM (technical and financial expert and his co-opted member); (vii) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa- Himayatullah Khan, Advisor to CM on Energy/ Power (technical expert)- Musharraf Rasool Cyan, Member (NFC) and; (viii) Balochistan- Shoai Nadeem Tareen, CE, Irrigation, (financial expert)- Sher Afghan, CE( canal) Irrigation (technical expert).
The committee will propose an out of the box solution for the payment of Net Hydel Profit to entitled provinces. The committee will submit its report in the next CCI meeting.
The sources said KP government wants implementation on AGN Kazi committee recommendations with respect to payment of NHP. The provincial government also wants implementation of KZM for calculation of NHP in the light of a committee headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Jehanzeb Khan.
However, Power Division is of the view that in case the proposal of Kazi Committee is approved by the CCI, Wapda has to pay Rs180 billion per year to KP from existing Rs20 billion, which is impracticable.
This issue has already created controversy which led to removal of Secretary Power, Irfan Ali, who protested at the manipulation in CCI’s minutes.
Punjab which is getting Rs15 billion per annum as NHP will receive Rs79 billion per annum.
"If the Kazi Committee-based recommendations are approved as it is, hydroelectric power tariff will be increased to Rs13 per unit from existing Rs5.32 per unit,” said an official.
Power Division, in its report presented to the CCI few months ago on the issue of calculation of NHP under Kazi methodology with the conclusion that the existing mechanism was no longer workable given changing dynamics of power sector.
The report argued that article 161 of the Constitution promised NHP to the provinces on the basis of hydel energy produced in a province and delivered to the national grid, which at the time of AGN Kazi Committee methodology was restricted to mostly Tarbela and some other stations.
The sources said, the committee will examine all available relevant record and find out a solution which is acceptable to all the concerned stakeholders especially Wapda as any increase in NHP, will be translated into increase in tariff to be passed on to the consumers.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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