Senators inquire about KAPCO contract
The Senate Standing Committee on Power on Friday inquired about the permission given for the extension of contract to Kot Addu Power Company (Kapco) till October 2022.
The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Saifullah Abro, questioned in what capacity the extension was granted to Kapco and why the transactions were not blocked on the expiry of its time period.
The committee was informed that Rs57 billion was paid to Kapco at a rate of Rs19.5 per unit, but no capacity payment was made after the expiry of contract.
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National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) vice chairman told the committee that regular correspondence was made with the company from July 2021 to January 2022 on the issue.
He mentioned that minimal payments with strict tariff rules on “take-or-pay” method were made to Kapco, while no amount was paid under the capacity payment head.
The body questioned Nepra for not taking any action against the “illegitimate contract extension” and asked why a petition had not yet been filed against it. The committee noted that electricity problems in the country could not be resolved “if Power Division continues to work in a non-serious manner”.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 26th, 2022.
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