Industrialists demand forensic audit of IPPs

Complain tariffs have gone beyond bearable limits, factories closing every day

KARACHI:

Local traders and industrialists have lodged a strong protest against the supply of expensive electricity and demanded a forensic audit of independent power producers (IPPs) as well as revision of their contracts.

At a press conference at the Federation House on Monday, representatives of trade and industry regretted that energy costs had become the biggest problem for Pakistan’s industries, which was reflected in payment of Rs2 trillion in capacity charges to the idle IPPs despite no electricity consumption.

Factories were shutting down every day and this year 25% of manufacturing units had already closed down, they revealed and asked how they would meet tax targets in such an economic situation.

Terming the cost of electricity “industry-unfriendly”, they said power tariffs had gone beyond bearable limits.

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Vice President Saqib Fayyaz Maggo, along with former minister of industry and trade from Punjab and United Business Group Patron-in-Chief SM Tanveer, pointed to the continuous increase in basic electricity tariff every month while charges were being paid even for the power plants that were not functioning.

He lamented that Pakistan had the capacity to generate 43,000 megawatts of electricity but it was supplying only 23,000 megawatts and capacity charges for the remaining 20,000 megawatts were being recovered from consumers.

“No one can afford to pay such heavy charges; also it is not possible to run industries at the current high power tariffs.”

He urged the government to reduce electricity prices and capacity charges; otherwise, the industries would not be able to continue their operations. “The public and industry are paying Rs20 per unit of electricity in capacity charges.”

He appealed to all political parties to come up with a 20-year industrial policy but cautioned that if timely decisions were not made, the situation would aggravate.