ISLAMABAD: Power Division’s arm Central Power Purchasing Agency -Guaranteed (CPPA-G) has been held responsible for current load shedding in the country as it has failed to make payments to the power plants to purchase fuel.
The country is facing up to 6 to 10 hour long load shedding due to shortfall of up to 5000 MW as many power plants are on forced outage or shutdown due to non-availability of required fuel.
This was the crux of a meeting arranged by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), after Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif took strict notice of current load shedding in the country at a meeting on April 14, 2022.
Nepra, which is the regulator of power sector, was not invited to the emergency meeting due to non-availability of fuel and technical faults, though CPPA-G, National Power Control Centre (NPCC) and other concerned organizations were present.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wants to get rid of load shedding immediately,” said Dr. Miftah Ismail.
Electricity load shedding: Nepra takes serious notice
According to an official statement, the Authority expressed serious concerns over power outages due to non-availability of oil and technical glitches.
The regulator questioned why these power plants are not available when the country is in dire need of electricity and the representatives of power plants responded that they have lodged a complaint against CPPA-G over non-availability of funds.
“We don’t have money to buy oil and repair plants. Both problems can be overcome if CPPA-G pays money on time,” said the CEOs of power plants.
After hearing the viewpoints of power plants, Nepra directed CPPA-G to expedite disbursement of funds to power plants. The authority also directed NPCC to review its planning according to the severity of the weather.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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