Chief Minister Mohammad Azam Khan has formally written to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif demanding Rs. 62 billion in pending hydel power payments and an increase in profit rates. He also mentioned the constitutional provisions under Article 161(2) to highlight the importance of the matter.
The letter recalled that the federal government had signed an NHP agreement with KP in 2016 which ensured the payment of 1.61 kWh. It said:
Wapda started payment to Punjab and KP accordingly. However, the flow of payment was not regular as per the interim agreement resulting in a shortfall of Rs. 62 billion in 2022-23.
He also mentioned that the national tariff has increased by 340 percent since then.
The letter noted that after KP raised the issue with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif he constituted a special committee to address the payment issue. The committee declared that the KCM methodology in practice for the last four decades to calculate these payments cannot be reused. It also directed the federal government to fulfill its responsibility by ensuring direct payments to provinces.
As the earlier calculation approved by the Council of Common Interest was based on KCM, another out-of-the-box committee was formed to seek a solution for the NHP payment issue in the long term. The Chief Minister also asked the PM to put an out-of-the-box committee report before the CCI for discussion while requesting an increased NHP of Rs. 2 per KWh, raising the Wapda generation tariff by 10% coupled with an effect of Rs. 1 per KWh on consumers.
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