Friday, April 19 2024

Discos guilty of regular overbilling, government concedes
Conce­ding regular overbilling by distribution companies and the power division’s total ignorance about the extent of defective meters, Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday hinted at reviewing electricity rates for solar, industrial and tribal region consumers to revive plunging electricity demand and counter rising capacity payments. Speaking at a news conference, Mr Leghari also alleged that not only electricity thieves but also the officers and staff of his ministry and subsidiaries were causing around Rs560 billion annual loss. He vowed to end this menace that was becoming unaffordable to the nation and causing irreparable harm to the economy. The minister said the distribution companies were losing Rs200bn on account of electricity units they bill but cannot recover, while another Rs360bn worth of units were lost to theft facilitated by “our officers and staff”. “It’s unacceptable,” he said.
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Tuesday, April 16 2024

969MW Neelum-Jhelum project in trouble, again
The 969-megawatt Neelum-Jhelum Hydro­power Project (NJHP), completed at an estimated approved cost of more than Rs510 billion, has been partially closed once again within days of its full capacity utilisation after almost 20-month-long repair works. The project was closed in July 2022 due to major cracks in its 3.5km tailrace tunnel (TRT), which was repaired over the next 13 months. Power generation started again in August-September 2023, attaining its maximum 969MW capacity on March 29, as announced by the Water & Power Development Authority (Wapda). Within a week, on April 3, the 48km-long headrace tunnel (HRT) dropped pressure, and power generation fell to about 400MW “soon after the project was restored to full capacity by international contractors because of debris or cracks in HRT”, inside sources told Dawn.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators power-gen-dist

PM wants robust renewable energy plan to cut oil bill
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed authorities concerned for robust renewable energy management to cut the country’s $27 billion oil import bill and improve the country’s existing electricity distribution system. “Ultimately, we have to move to renewable energy. The oil import worth billions of dollars can be controlled by using alternative resources like solar, wind and hydel. Make cold calculations and I believe, you will be the winner in the long term,” the prime minister said while addressing a meeting held to review the power sector’s performance. The prime minister said utilising renewable energy resources would also ensure riddance from the crude oil tanker mafia acting as parasites and eating up the national money.
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Tuesday, April 09 2024

Rs 4.92 per unit extra for electricity used in Feb
Consu­mers will pay Rs4.92 per unit extra next month for electricity consumed in February, after the power regulator approved the hike as additional fuel cost adjustment (FCA). The National Electric Power Regulatory Autho­rity (Nepra) notified the increase on Monday. It will impact consumers of all ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos), generating a net financial impact of about Rs45bn. The net tariff increase because of the FCA impact would be about Rs7.51 per unit owing to its partial spillover to the upcoming quarterly tariff adjustment (QTA), as explained by the regulator during a public hearing on March 28. The adjustment will be applicable to “all the consumer categories except Electric Vehicle Charging Stations (EVCS) and lifeline consumers”, said the Nepra’s notification.
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Monday, April 08 2024

Reforming electricity distribution companies
The energy value chain cannot be fixed without reforming electricity distribution companies. The inability to fix the chain and make electricity more affordable will continue to keep Pakistan stuck in a low-growth trap while accelerating de-industrialisation. The electricity distribution companies (Discos) are plagued with multiple problems, from governance and pricing to operations. For any reforms to be successful, the first step needs to be the elimination of a national uniform tariff — which basically penalises efficiency and high repayment propensity while incentivising inefficient processes and low recoveries. Through a national uniform tariff, well-managed Discos foot the bill for distribution companies with high losses. Disaggregating prices and, consequently, losses will remain critical for any reform. In such a scenario, incentives need to be aligned so that the Discos and respective provinces are motivated or forced to improve efficiencies and recoveries.
Related news categories: business economic-indicators power-gen-dist