NHP may be raised to Rs 16 billion from Rs six billion per annum

The federal government has reportedly decided to increase Net Hydel Profit (NHP) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) from Rs 6 billion to Rs 16 billion per annum, after years of persistent struggle by the successive provincial governments, well informed sources in Wapda told Business Recorder.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting presided over by Minister for Water and Power, Khawaja Asif attended by Member Finance Wapda and a legal representative of the KPK government. However, the decision will be presented to the Council of Common Interests (CCI) scheduled to meet on March 18, 2015 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
In 2004-05, the amount of NHP was enough to finance 42 per cent of provincial budget but now it is 1.5 per cent of KPK budget, the sources added. The meeting was informed that if NHP amount of Rs 6 billion fixed in 2004-05 is calculated with dollar value it should be Rs 36 billion. The sources said Finance Minister, Senator Ishaq Dar recently promised Chief Minister KPK Pervez Khattak that all possible help will be extended to KPK in the economic uplift of the province.
Chief Minister, KPK, sources said mentioned about outstanding payment of NHP to KPK. Both the government functionaries agreed that the issue would be taken up by Ministry of Water and Power on a priority basis with inputs from NEPRA and WAPDA to propose workable options. The Finance Minister promised that a meeting to this effect would be held later this month with due representation from KPK. All other issues relating to Ministry of Water and Power and KP would be discussed at working-level meetings, proposing the way forward.
In January, senators unanimously urged Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) to clear the outstanding Rs 450 billion total share of NHP of Khyber PakhtunKhawa as soon as possible. Former Senator Awami National Party's Haji Muhammad Adeel asked the government to encourage production of cheap electricity and observed that the payment of net hydel share to KPK could help enhance the production of hydel power.
He maintained that the province was being paid Rs 1.25 per unit and same power was being sold to it from Rs 12 to 18 per unit. During the PPP era, a tribunal was constituted to calculate the outstanding share of KPK. The tribunal recommended the payment of Rs 110 billion outstanding share of KPK from 2006 to 2010.
The then President, Asif Ali Zardari, had ordered the payment of outstanding amount in installments but that too stopped after the completion of the tenure of the PPP government. The KPK government's representative, who attended the meeting, did not disclose the decisions taken in the meeting but expressed the hope that now financial issues of the province will be resolved.