The Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCOE) last week gave the go-ahead to 13 old renewable energy projects of about 700 megawatts amid the poor investor’s response to the bidding of the 600MW solar project at Muzaffargarh.
CCOE referred the matter to the Council of Common Interests due to the interprovincial nature of the projects.
Power Ministry led by Khurram Dastgir has also been a strong supporter of the Cat-III plants and had recommended the initiative to the Prime Minister last year as well, reported Dawn.
“An inter-ministerial committee formed by PM Shehbaz Sharif on stalled renewable energy projects has submitted its report to the prime minister, with the recommendation that the report be put before the Council of Common Interests,” stated Power Minister Khurram Dastgir.
A special cabinet committee chaired by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had recommended earlier that 13 proposed renewable energy plants from Category III be given the approval for implementation as their tariffs have been approved by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
The committee included Power Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan, Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar, and Human Rights Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada.
NEPRA approved the tariffs for Cat-III projects in 2017-18, but the work was delayed. Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) was entrusted with these projects under decisions taken by CCOE which CCI held during the approval of ARE Policy 2019.
Energy Minister and Minister for Human Rights Riaz Hussain Pirzada and Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on IT and Telecom also proposed earlier in 2020 to approve these projects for construction with a tariff range of 3.2 to 3.7 cents per kWh but evolving government policies delayed the process.
They had pointed out that the government-funded 600MW Muzaffargarh Solar Project was also in the same tariff range and was countering poor bidding and financial challenges and in that context, sponsors of these 13 old renewable projects should be given the go-ahead for the next phase to produce cheaper and cleaner electricity.
Riaz Hussain Pirzada had also complained about delaying tactics opted by the AEDB Chief Executive Officer Shahjahan Mirza saying that he is “dragging his foot in typical bureaucratic style” and is unable to make any feasible recommendations.
Pirzada also said that the 680MW Cat-III projects are wind and solar plants that have met all obligations under letters of support (LoS) per the Alternative Energy Policy of 2006 and their tariff range of 3.2 to 3.85 cents per kWh is “lowest in the history”.
