While the federal government must be appreciated for cancelling contracts with 5 IPPs (Independent Power Producers), a lot more needs to be done.
Unfortunately, every government, which has been at the helm during past two decades, has failed to regulate guaranteed capacity payment charges to IPP units without carrying out an authentic audit of the capacity and capability of the units installed to produce electricity, for which trillions of rupees have been paid to their owners.
The PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) of those IPPs that fail to meet to their obligations can be cancelled for breach of contract. What stopped successive governments from doing so can either be their complicity, or conflict of interest. It is about time the government carried out a technical audit across the board of all IPP units, which have PPA agreements for capacity payments. There is no justification for any further delay.
It is not just ordinary citizens who are suffering, but also our exports have been hurt because of exorbitant rise in energy charges, which are highest in the region.
Competitive pricing of goods is essential if Pakistan intends to boost exports and improve revenues. It will provide the government some fiscal space to invest in education, health, provision of basic necessities, and research in science and technology, without which no country can develop and be capable to be self-sufficient. Rise in literacy rate, will curtail extremism, which poses a threat to our national security.
Malik Tariq Ali (Lahore)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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