K-P demands of Center Rs200b annual share

CM’s adviser says AGN Qazi formula should be used to determine the province’s share

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has demanded of the federal government to provide it its due share in the net hydel profit stemming from the power generation units located in the province.

“The provincial government has demanded its due share in the net hydel profit under the AGN Qazi formula,” said Adviser to the Chief Minister on Energy Himayatullah Khan while addressing a meeting on Friday.

Additional Secretary Zafarul Islam, PEDO Chairman Syed Zainullah Shah, Assistant Director Information Anwar Khan and other officers attended the meeting.

K-P is looking to cash in on Tarbela Dam, Tarbela IV and V extension projects, Ghazi Barotha Hydropower Project and Dasu Dam.

The CM’s adviser said, “If the federal government releases the provincial share of the hydel profit, it will be around Rs200 billion.”

The Council of Common Interests (CCI) has already formed a committee under the chairmanship of Federal Minister for Planning and Development Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar with federal secretary water and power, Punjab chief minister and K-P CM and Adviser Himayatullah as its members.



The main committee has already formed a technical committee which will submit its recommendations to it in light of the AGN Qazi formula.

Himayatullah acknowledged that Punjab had supported K-P’s case in the technical committee’s meeting, while Wapda had also presented its version to the committee.

“Under the AGN Qazi formula, the province will get its annual share of Rs128 billion, while with the addition of Tarbela IV and V extension projects, and Dasu, K-P’s share in the net hydel profit will increase to Rs250 billion a year,” Himaytullah said.

Talking to The Express Tribune, the adviser to the CM said, “When former chief minister Pervez Khattak raised the issue, a dispute took place between the Centre and the provincial government over the mechanism for determining the net hydel profit and cost of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and line losses.”

However, he said, with the release of the K-P’s net hydel profit share, the electricity tariff would not be affected, adding that soon the province would get its portion as the federal government was serious in releasing the profit.

Background

A dispute erupted between the Centre and the provincial government over the mechanism for determining the net hydel profit and cost of electricity generation, transmission, distribution and line losses.



The CCI – an inter-provincial body –constituted a committee to deliberate the issue. It comprises Planning Commission deputy chairman, secretary water resources and chief secretaries of K-P and Punjab.

In a meeting of the CCI held on April 24, former K-P chief minister Khattak underlined the need for implementing the previous CCI decision on payment of net hydel profit to provinces.

He recalled that the CCI had referred the matter to the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee (IPCC) for making appropriate recommendations. The IPCC then recommended that the AGN Qazi methodology should be adopted to calculate the net hydel profit.

According to Article 161(2) of the Constitution, the net hydel profit earned by the federal government on any undertaking established or administered by it from the bulk power generation at a hydroelectric power station would be paid to the province in which the generation facility is situated.