A meeting of a delegation led by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak and Federal Minister for Water and Power Khawaja Muhammad Asif was held on Wednesday to discuss matters relating to the net hydel profit of KP, federal government’s assistance in establishment of small hydel projects in KP and assistance of the KP government in recoveries from electricity defaulters and action against theft.
Minister for Inter-provincial Government Coordination Riaz Hussain Peerzada also participated in the meeting. Ministry of Water and Power Secretary Mohammad Younus Dagha, senior officials of the Ministry of Water and Power and Ministry of Finance and Energy Department of KP were present during the meeting.
A press release issued to the media said that the meeting expressed satisfaction over the progress made on uncapping of Net Hydel Profit (NHP) after an agreement was reached in the previous meeting. The meeting commended the Ministry of Water and Power for taking the matter to NEPRA for determination of tariff and increase of NHP from the previous Rs 6 billion to 18 billion.
The meeting decided that both the Ministry of Water and Power and KP government will take the matter to CCI for final decision as required by NEPRA in its determination of new tariff.
The meeting also decided that both sides will jointly work out a comprehensive plan for determination of the period and volume of outstanding amount of NHP and the same will be decided after taking all stakeholders onboard.
The meeting also agreed that the KP government would provide all-out assistance to PESCO in the recovery of arrears and current bills.
An effective campaign will be launched against elements involved in power theft. This will bring the load shedding hours down to the average load shedding in the country. The meeting also decided to nominate Energy Department secretary on the BoD of PESCO to give the provincial government more representation in the affairs of PESCO.
Federal Minister for Water and Power assured the meeting that Ministry of Water and Power would sensitise local and international investors regarding establishment of small hydel projects. He asked the chief minister to coordinate possible sites for such projects so that the Ministry of Water and Power could facilitate potential investors.
