ISLAMABAD - Independent Power Producers (IPPs), confronted with extreme financial crunch in the country’s history, have now sought a hefty Rs160billion overdue liability from the cash-starved government before 31st December to avoid severe loadshedding in the country.
Sources privy to the development informed TheNation that overdue liabilities worth Rs 266 billion of power sector payable to the IPPs have reached alarming figures forcing the private heavyweights, who have already invested billions, to get rid of the business at earliest. The IPPs facing serious financial crisis are in a fix. They have asked the beleaguered government to pay a hefty Rs160billion overdue liability before 31st December to avoid severe power cuts.
Chairman IPPs Advisory Council, Abdullah Yousuf, talking to this scribe, said overall overdue payment of IPPs had surged to Rs 266 billion wherein Rs 50 billion was under capacity payment and Rs 216 billion was energy payment. For the last two years, no private investor had shown interest in the business, he said.
As incumbent government has not paid even a single penny to the IPPs in the last six months, IPPs’ power production has now reduced to only 45 per cent, Yousuf said adding, if overdue liabilities were not paid the situation might deteriorate further after 31st December in the country. On a query, the Chairman IPP Advisory Council said finance ministry had assured them that they would get payment well in time. The current quarter is going to end on December 31, therefore, IPPs have to make payments to the banks in terms of interest and loans. He further confirmed the information that overdue liabilities worth Rs 266billion of power sector payable to the IPPs had reached to alarming figures forcing investors to get rid of the business as soon as possible.
Sources also said that reduced power production of IPPs coupled with annual canal closure had widened the demand and supply gap taking the shortfall in the country to 3,500MW. Seven-hour loadshedding in urban and 12-hour in rural areas had added to the woes and worries of the consumers. Power shortfall could go up to 5,500MW in January making lives of the masses more difficult, sources added.
In the wake of prevailing circumstances, the ‘innocent wishes’ of Federal Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar to reduce the power shortfall during the upcoming year seems like crying for a moon.