Hydropower from Dir project costing Rs3 to be purchased for Rs18/unit

Another scandal of purchasing electricity at an unprecedented exorbitant price hit the country, as the electricity produced by a hydropower project located in Lower Dir would be obtained at a rate of Rs18 per unit against the production cost of up to Rs3, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Saturday.

This startling revelation came as the hydropower is cheap around the globe but Pakistan is moving in the opposite direction.

According to details, a plan is afoot under which the electricity generated at the Koto Hydropower Project would be purchased at a rate at least six times higher than cost.

Hence, preparations are being finalised for fixing the tariff at Rs18 per unit against a cost of Rs2 to Rs3.

Taking notice of the situation, the Transparency International Pakistan has written a letter to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), which says that they have received a petition from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation, pointing out the project.

Rejecting the tariff, Transparency International described the tariff as a burden on the people. It also cited the latest example from Abu Dhabi where an agreement has been reached on solar power at a rate of Rs2 per kilowatt on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis.

The transparency watchdog also made clear that although the federal government had signed a new MoU, the mechanism to determine tariff was still old. Moreover, the electricity was being purchased in dollars instead of rupees, it added.