ADB consultant featured in body formed to frame energy policy

Later, Power Division dissolved the committee, formed a new one comprising its officials

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Power Division Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari flouted rules by issuing a notification for constituting a committee that comprises a consultant of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and is tasked with framing the national electricity plan and policy.

This development indicates that the minister appears to be acting too fast and wants to take all matters in his control by ignoring the rules of business.

According to a notification issued on December 19, 2017 bearing the minister’s signature, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, he constituted a committee for drawing up the energy policy, which was a violation of the rules of business of the government.

A section officer of any ministry or division is authorised to issue such a notification.

In another interesting development, the minister issued the notification in line with the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electricity Bill 2017, which had only been approved by the National Assembly. The Senate has not yet given its consent.

The minister also could not include a private member - the ADB consultant - in the committee that had the mandate to devise the electricity plan and policy. This is the second controversy that erupted in the Power Division since Leghari came at the helm in August 2017.

Earlier, the bureaucracy in the Power Division had opposed the writing of a letter to the power sector regulator - the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) - for seeking a review of the multi-year tariff for private sector electricity producer K-Electric.

However, the minister managed to write the letter in the absence of power secretary.

Later, the Power Division tried to rectify the situation and issued a notification to withdraw the letter.

Again, the Power Division came up with a new notification on December 26, 2017 with the minister’s approval to constitute a separate committee comprising senior officials of the ministry, dissolving the earlier one comprising the ADB consultant. The committee will formulate the National Electricity Policy and National Electricity Plan, which will be tabled before the Council of Common Interests (CCI) in a bid to take provinces on board.

The committee will particularly focus on electricity generation, establishment of a market operator, wholesale electricity trading, transmission and distribution of electricity and creation of a retail electricity market.

It will also draft a five-year plan aimed at transition of the power market into a competitive multi-buyer regime, establishment of a guarantee fund and encouraging electricity trade on an exchange.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 3^rd, 2018.

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