ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has constituted a Task Force to suggest a way forward to the current energy issues including supervision of implementation of structural reforms in the power sector.
According to the notification, the Task Force will be headed by Power Minister Sardar Awais Khan Leghari and will comprise of former caretaker Minister for Power and Petroleum Muhammad Ali as Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Power as co-chairman while Lt (Gen) Muhammad Zafar Iqbal as the national coordinator.
A BS-21 officer Syed Zakaria Ali Shah and nominees of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed (CPPA-G), Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) and Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) are appointed as Members of the Task Force.
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The task force will co-opt any expert from public/private sector, engage or seek record(s) and information and/or assistance from local and/or international consulting firms, bankers, legal advisors, chartered accountancy firms, or any other organisation or individual as deemed necessary.
According to the notification Terms of Reference (ToRs) of Task Force will be as follows: (i) recommending measures for making power sector financially and operationally sustainable; (ii) overseeing the development of an efficient and liquid power market design along with its implementation;(iii) recommending utilisation of excess capacity by industries/SEZs for stimulating growth;(iv) reviewing and recommending measures to reduce capacity payments, including-but not limited to shutting down certain plants and taking any other necessary measures as deemed appropriate ;(v) reviewing matters pertaining to the set-up cost of various IPPs in the country and identifying malpractices, procedural weaknesses and regulatory gaps with I a view to recommend the way forward to rectify these; (vi) reviewing compliance of IPPs with-parameters/terms and conditions of various agreements signed with relevant government agencies or institutions ; and (vii) recommending measures to resolve the issue of circular debt stock in energy sector.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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