ISLAMABAD: The Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB), an arm of Power Division, has sought approval of revised Request for Proposal (RFP) from National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) drafted on the basis of amendments recently approved by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet.
In a letter to Registrar Nepra, Director (Policy/ IC) AEDB, Syed Aqeel Hussain Jafri referred to AEDB’s letter dated November 21, 2022 whereby the former submitted Request for Proposal for competitive bidding of 600-MWp solar PV project at Muzaffargarh along with Security Package Documents (SPDs) comprising an Implementation Agreement (IA) and an Energy Purchase Agreement (EPA) for approval and determination of the benchmark tariff.
AEDB, in its letter had informed the Authority that Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet, in its meeting held on November 14, 2022, had approved the SPDs subject to the following: (i) the new payment mechanism proposed under the Security Package Agreement (SPAs) for settlement of invoices through bank debit from a dedicated solar account to be maintained by the purchaser be deleted and replaced with the standard payment mechanism given under the earlier ECC approved agreements; and (ii) the tariff will be indexed annually rather than quarterly based on exchange rate variation (USD/ PKR).
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Accordingly, AEDB made the necessary amendments in its RFP and SPDs to make them consistent with the decision of the ECC which were submitted to the Authority in the letter of November 21, 2022.
The AEDB further noted that the ECC, in its meeting held on January 17, 2023 while considering its decision approved the following for incorporation in the standardized SPDs approved by the ECC on November 14, 2022: (i) 70 per cent of the total tariff will be annexed on quarterly basis with exchange rate variation (USD/ PKR) ; and (ii) in addition to the GoP guarantee, the payment under the EPA will be ensured on 60th day after invoice through bank debit from a dedicated solar account to be maintained by CPPA-G.
The AEDB has requested Nepra to process the approval of the RFP and determination of the benchmark tariff in light of the recent decision of the ECC. The revised RFP along with the SPDs incorporating the necessary amendments to make them consistent with the ECC decision has also been shared with the regulator.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023