Conversion of Port Qasim power plant to local coal: CPPA-G advises PPIB to seek approvals from relevant officials

ISLAMABAD: The Central Power Purchasing Agency–Guaranteed (CPPA-G) has advised the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) to seek necessary approvals from the authorities concerned for conversion of the Port Qasim coal-fired power plant from imported coal to local coal as the company has offered a different version of minutes of a key meeting, well-informed sources told Business Recorder.

The PPIB, in its letters of December 23, 2022 and December 30, 2022, had requested views/ comments of CPPA-G on the response submitted by the Port Qasim Electric Power Company Limited (PQEPC) in relation to proposed conversion of the 1320MW CFPP to Thar coal.

The CPPA-G, in a letter to the PPIB on October 13, 2022, forwarded the draft minutes of the meeting held on October 5, 2022 on this issue. However, the CPPA-G on October 21, 2022 requested to rephrase its position on a part of the draft minutes of the meeting. However, the corrected and signed version of the minutes of the meeting is still awaited to be issued from PPIB.

In response to the PQEPC letter on December 8, 2022 addressed directly to the PPIB, the submissions from CPPA-G are as follows: (i) PQEPC has revealed disagreement on the draft minutes of the meeting. Thus, it is suggested to agree and finalise the minutes of the meeting before further proceedings; (ii) arrangement of funds to PQEPC for procurement of Thar coal cannot be entertained by CPPA-G. Any matter related to tariff shall be submitted to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for due consideration, if required; (iii) CPPA-G, in its letter of October 21, 2022, has already clarified its position on additional requirement of Forced/Partial Forced Outage allowance by PQEPC. In fact, anything beyond the existing contractual terms and conditions of PPA requires prior approval of Nepra, in any case; and (iv) The requirement of additional funds for modifications and additional equipment for blending test cannot be entertained by CPPA-G.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023