'Irregularities in power sector caused over Rs4 trillion loss to national kitty'

ISLAMABAD: During the last 13 years the national kitty faced loss of over Rs4 trillion due to circular debt and subsidies being given to power producers, the power sector inquiry report released on Tuesday.

It said that 16 independent power producing companies (IPPs) invested around Rs60 billion and earned over Rs400 billion in profits in a period ranging from two to four years.

The development comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier in the day allowed to make the power sector inquiry report public about the billions of rupees alleged irregularities in the power sector involving federal cabinet members.

The decision was taken during a federal cabinet meeting in Islamabad chaired by the premier on Tuesday.

However, the Ministry of Energy had opposed the move to make the report public, fearing that it may have implications for Pakistan’s relations with other countries.



Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) former chairman Mohammad Ali-led inquiry committee has submitted its findings on the power sector projects that the government of Pakistan contracted since 1994.

The findings showed that the deals were signed at the expense of interests of the consumers and the government.

The names of prime minister’s aides Razak Dawood and Nadeem Baber are among the beneficiaries of the investors’ favoured deals, although nothing illegal has been committed.

A day earlier, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had proposed to make the explosive power sector inquiry report public to avoid allegations of protecting the government’s vested interests, as the findings revealed the masked details of investors’ favoured deals.