‘Withheld’ renewable energy projects: PFREIF accuses Power Div of misguiding SIFC

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Foreign Renewable Energy Investors Forum (PFREIF) has accused Power Division’s bureaucracy of misguiding Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) on thirteen “withheld” renewable energy projects.

In a letter to Prime Minister (Chairman SIFC) and Chief of Army Staff, (Co-Chairman SIFC) the Forum’s President, Mustafa Abdullah, praised SIFC for the historical decision of allowing setting up of 300MW solar projects at the redundant GENCO-III/ NPGCL, furnace oil-fired power plant’s site, enabling the utilising of the existing grid and other infrastructure and ushering a new era of cheap and fuel-free electricity for Pakistan.

“Such a decision will go a long way in addressing the current energy woes of Pakistan created due to wrong policies and decisions of previous governments. Decision of doing away with bidding process and opting for Nepra’s determined tariff is appreciable,” said the President of PWPFIF in his letter.

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The Forum argued that Pakistan, at this critical juncture needs several such decisions to add thousands of megawatt of wind and solar projects, to help overcome expensive imported fuel-based electricity issue adding that future survival of Pakistan is based on installing cheap electricity, sans expenditure, on imported fuel projects.

According to the Forum, SIFC has been misguided by the Power Division’s bureaucracy and Managing Director PPIB on the issue of 13 advance stage wind and solar projects that were already approved by the seven-member ministerial committee in July, 2023 by the ex-PDM government.

Mustafa Abdullah further stated that all these 13 projects were granted lowest tariff of Cents 3.2 to 3.8/kWh by Nepra in 2020 but the tariff was not notified in official gazette by the PTI government. He said that an enquiry should be held to ascertain the fact that no wind and solar electricity projects were approved from 2016-2024, in spite of World Bank consultant’s report of 2017 that recommended to add 9200-MW wind and solar projects to lower energy basket prices and reduce dependence on imported fuel.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024