Minister defends DISCOs overbilling

Challenges claims of overcharging 10m consumers, says only 0.2m has been affected

ISLAMABAD:

The caretaker minister of energy has stepped in to defend the corrupt power distribution companies (DISCOs) over allegations of inflated consumer bills and has turned down a report of the power-sector regulator.

Talking to journalists on Wednesday, Energy Minister Mohammad Ali argued that wrong data had been used by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) in its report on overbilling, insisting that 10 million electricity consumers had not been overcharged.

However, the chief executive officers of DISCOs had recently acknowledged that their customers had been overcharged.

design: mohsin alam

Moreover, the regulator used the data of DISCOs that also revealed that customers got inflated monthly bills in a bid to show a better performance of electricity distributing companies.

“Only 0.2 million customers have been affected by overbilling,” the energy minister emphasised, adding that an independent committee was working on the matter, which would submit its report within a week.

He was of the view that faulty agreements inked by previous governments with power producers caused the increase in electricity prices.

Speaking at the 3rd International Hydropower Conference, the caretaker minister, while lauding the Energy Update for organising the event, stressed that it would help improve the policy framework for the energy sector.

Calling the planned increase in the share of renewable energy and hydroelectric power in the country’s energy mix a top priority of the government, he said it was the only way that could bring down power tariff and provide affordable energy to the consumers.

Read Ministry finds hole in NEPRA excessive bills report

Currently, the contribution of hydel and renewable energy stands at 31% and the government has embarked on an ambitious plan to enhance it to 61% by 2030.

The minister noted that Pakistan had tremendous potential to produce wind, solar and hydroelectric power. “We can generate around 64,000 megawatts from the hydel source and has reached only 11,000MW so far.”

Among hydroelectric power projects, work on 4,200MW Dasu dam and power project, 800MW Mohmand dam and 4,500MW Diamer Bhasha dam is being carried out. However, financing was a big issue for such mega projects, he added.

Apart from extensive hydel resources, Pakistan has 175 billion tons of coal reserves in Thar which can generate electricity for decades.

Turning to energy conservation, the minister believes that 3,000 to 4,000MW of electricity can be saved only through the use of energy-efficient fans across the country.

Earlier, Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB) Managing Director Dr Shahjahan Mirza emphasised that hydroelectric power projects were equally beneficial for environment and the national economy.

PPIB has so far commissioned four projects with electricity generation capacity of 1,100MW. However, he said, it was not an easy task to attract private-sector investors to pour capital into hydroelectric power schemes, which required huge financing and a long time frame for completion of work.

He believes that the government’s target of producing 60% of energy through renewable and hydel sources by 2030 would attract investments of around $100 billion.

Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) Chief Executive Officer Engineer Muhammad Naeem, while sharing his views on the occasion, said that renewable energy could turn the future of the country.

“Renewables are not only important for the industry and other consumers, but also for climate and the economy.”

Pakistan had a huge hydel energy potential in the north and renewable energy, particularly wind and solar, potential in the south, he pointed out, adding that PEDO was playing its role in developing small hydroelectric power projects in the remote and far flung areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Some micro hydel projects are already supplying electricity to the nearby localities at very cheap rates. Nine more projects having 750MW capacity are in the pipeline.

He underscored the need for focusing more on renewable energy besides removing hurdles in its way to ensure the provision of affordable electricity to the general consumers and industries.

International Hydropower Association CEO Eddie Rich, in his video message, highlighted the importance and future prospects of hydel energy.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st, 2023.

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