Caretaker government slashes wind power tariff, halts payments to 14 plants

The caretaker federal government has taken a major decision to reduce the electricity price for consumers by cutting the tariff of wind power plants, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

According to sources, the government has stopped payments of Rs20billion to 14 wind power plants that were charging higher rates than the market. The additional costs of these plants were revealed in an investigation, but the previous government did not implement the recommendations to lower the tariff.

A five-member committee, headed by the Managing Director of the Private Power and Infrastructure Board (PPIB), has been formed to renegotiate the contracts with the wind power plants and the power plants of sugar mills. The committee will ask the plants to voluntarily reduce their tariff, otherwise they will face legal action. The payments will be released only after the new contracts are signed.

The summary of the committee's work has been sent to the Cabinet Committee on Energy, which will hold an important meeting on January 26. The meeting will also discuss the water shortage issue faced by Muzaffarabad due to the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project. A report on competitive power trading agreements and revolving credit will also be presented to the committee.

Reporter: Awais Kiynani