ISLAMABAD - The entire country is paying through the nose due to the criminal connivance of former AJK President Raja Zulqarnains son with government gurus to sell electricity at unimaginably skyrocketing rates from a rental power plant owned by Raja Babar Ali Zulqarnain. Due to inefficiency and lack of vision of the Water and Power Ministry, Pepco and the NTDC, the power consumers of the country, other than the KESC, are bearing the brunt of faulty Karkey power plant deal. The federal government is all set to secretly grant approval, for fetching hefty amount from the money of taxpayers, soon against the electricity generated in eight months since April worth more than Rs 11.87 billion while the KESC is to pay only 17 per cent of electricity produced i.e. Rs 1.87 billion, reliable sources said on Wednesday. Financial wizards have argued that shockingly Nepra, the protector of power consumers rights, has so far adopted deep silence and hushed up the matter of extra burden being passed on to the power consumers other than the KESC though they were not utilizing that electricity which is being provided to the KESC. This massive swindle and plunder is underway since April this year but the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has ostensibly failed to safeguard the poor consumers from this massive plunder. They further informed that electricity is being purchased at Rs42 per unit from the floating Karkey power plant. They said it is more sarcastic that Pepco has paid billions of rupees in advance but electricity is being provided to the KESC only. Further, approval of this Karkey rental power plant was only given in a bid to ensure the provision of 231MW from Karkey plant, then after this power production, the NTDC would decrease the supply of 231MW from the provided 700MW per day at Rs7 per unit and this electricity would be then supplied to other parts of the country. However, despite passing of eight months, average 700MW daily is being supplied continuously so far and Pepco is providing 650MW electricity daily to the KESC just because of absence of increase in the production capacity of the KESC, they opined. They, however, raised questions that it was the sole responsibility of the KESC, being a privatized company, to establish new power plants to meet its demands but why the entire nation has to suffer, why the common man should bear the additional electricity rates, what kind of law is in practice here to amicably deal with this issue of massive looting where the beneficiary is paying very little while the entire power consumers have to bear skyrocketing power charges though they are not benefiting with it? Astounding methods of fetching hefty amount from the pockets of hard pressed power consumers by the Pepco, the NTDC (National Transmission Dispatch Company) and Lakhra Power Generation Company, the government was purchasing electricity from Karkey rental power plant at record price of Rs 42 per unit, more than twice the amount paid to any other Independent Power Producer (IPP). The electricity being generated by Karkey rental power plant at the cost of Rs42 per unit is being supplied to KESC at Rs7 per unit and the remaining Rs35 per unit cost is being charged from consumers of nine distribution companies (Discos). This electricity was being sold to the KESC at Rs7 per unit while remaining Rs 35 per unit has secretly been charged from the power consumers of the country, which are not benefiting from this electricity. Official documents available with TheNation further revealed that in the month of April, Karkey plant generated 2,85,55400kwh units of electricity with fuel cost of Rs21.84 per unit, but the state-owned Lakhra power generation plant could not provide the required furnace oil, because of which capacity payment per unit was set at Rs22 per unit and instead of 231MW per day, this Karkey power plant is producing only 30MW so far but the total fuel cost stood at Rs620.37 million, whereas the capacity payment remained at Rs620.82 million. Similarly, in the month of May, Karkey produced 3,02,94,200 units of electricity with per unit fuel cost of Rs15.02 per unit and capacity charge per unit of Rs25.40. The total cost of fuel in the month of May worked out at Rs450.52 million whereas the capacity payment in the said month stood at Rs760.94 million. Again, in June 2011, this plant generated 308,37,400 units with per unit fuel cost of Rs14.90 and per unit capacity payment of Rs25.25. However, in the whole month, the total fuel cost remained at Rs450.96 million, and capacity payment Rs770.86 million. Further, in July, Karkey plant generated 39,722,300kwh unit with fuel cost of Rs 596,823,458. This results that poor power consumers are paying over Rs1 billion in the head of fuel and capacity payments for just 30-55 MW per day from the Karkey power plant. It is more ironic that extra burden of more than Rs 1 billion per month was being passed on to the power consumers directly or indirectly under the head of fuel and capacity payments, sources said, adding that Karkey Company has paid the billing worth more than Rs 2.17 billion to the NTDC and Lakhra power generation company till this effect, which will be more secretly paid to Karkey rental power company by the federal government from the tax money of the tax payers in coming few days. .