The Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production on Thursday asked whether the government would purchase electricity from solar consumers at Rs9 per unit while expressing concerns about the "potential lobbying by Independent Power Producers (IPPs)" against the solar policy.
The upper house panel convened under the chairmanship of Senator Aon Abbas Buppi to discuss solar panel policy and the progress on electric vehicle (EV) initiatives.
Officials from the Ministry of Industries and Production briefed the committee about the solar panels, saying they started working on the solar policy on the directives of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC). The officials further said they shared the summary with the stakeholders and addressed the issue of the sales tax.
The committee chairman questioned whether the IPPs were lobbying against the solar policy, which the ministry officials denied.
The solar panel local manufacturing policy recommends a 10-year framework for sustained local and international investment, exemption from duties and taxes on the import of plant, machinery and equipment, equal treatment of sales tax and increased duties on finished products.
Senator Saifullah Niazi stressed the need for proactive measures to promote local solar manufacturing.
The committee chairman asked who decided the price of the solar panels to which the officials replied that it depended on market conditions and import.
Buppi asked whether any work was planned for local solar manufacturing in the future. The industries ministry officials deferred the question to the FBR for a response.
The committee chairman suggested to the senators that FBR officials be invited to brief the panel on the matter. Senator Saleem Mandviwala said FBR will not be able to give a "clear stance" on the issue.
The Engineering Development Board (EDB) CEO highlighted that the policy's aim was to encourage local solar production, including proposals for tax exemptions and the establishment of an international certification laboratory. The committee was told that FBR will include tax exemptions for solar panels in the next finance bill.
Senator Mandviwalla asked whether local companies would produce solar cells. The EDB CEO replied that producing cells locally was not feasible but manufacture make solar panels was possible. The committee also deliberated on the the draft of Electric Vehicle (EV) policy, which is yet to receive final approval.
The panel was told that EV charging stations would be installed at all petrol pumps in Islamabad.
Officials said 40 locations along motorways had been identified for charging stations, with installations already completed on both sides of the Bhera Interchange.
The committee was informed that 3,000 charging stations would be established nationwide for electric cars.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ