IPPs reject power committee's allegations

Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have strongly rejected the allegations levelled against them in the report of "Committee for Power Sector Audit, Circular Debt Resolution and Future Road Map" submitted to Prime Minister Imran Khan.

In a letter to Omar Ayub Khan, federal minister for energy here Friday, Khalid Mansoor, chairman Independent Power Producers' Advisory Council said it was to our utter shock and disappointment that we learned from various media reports that the "Committee for Power Sector Audit, Circular Debt Resolution and Future Road Map" (the committee) has submitted its report (report) to the prime minister a few days ago, without contacting the IPPs for their point of view.

The selective leaking of excerpts of the report is not only defaming IPPs, that have invested at a time when the country was facing daily load shedding of around 14-18 hours, with false allegations, but is also sure to hinder any future investment in this sector; this has been highly disappointing and discouraging.

Independent Power Producers request that the report be provided to them at the earliest to allow them to review the veracity of its contents, he added. The committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Muhammad Ali, ex-chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), who on January 11, 2019, in a television show, expressed his bias against the IPPs by accusing them of overbilling and receiving excess payments, without any proof whatsoever - and this eight months before the constitution of the committee.

Regardless of his pre-conceived biases against IPPs, how could one expect a fair opinion from a person that already had a negative perception against IPPs, of which he admits to in public?

This not only taints the committee but also the entire process that has been followed to arrive at the conclusions by the committee and thereby the report of the committee.

The IPPs have always acted in strict accordance and compliance with legally valid and binding documents and the law of the land, even though it is the government (through its various bodies) that has consistently breached the terms and conditions of such documents.

Yet, the same IPPs, that are being maligned, are the ones that have been acting in good faith (and acting in the greater national interest), lent a helping hand and cooperated whole-heartedly with the government.

Independent Power Producers reject in the strongest terms the allegations framed against them in the report, that are being disseminated in the media. Independent Power Producers are set up under a strictly-regulated environment and through a very stringent process before being commissioned.

This process is carried out in a fair and fully transparent manner in accordance with the approved policies of the government of Pakistan. All invoicing submitted, and payments being received by IPPs are audited by the Nepra as well as the power purchaser and are strictly in accordance with the power purchase agreements and tariffs determined by the Nepra.

"We do hereby register our strong protest against the malicious media campaign being run against IPPs as well as the report that is being leaked/circulated in the media," Khalid Mansoor said.