The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has sought deferment in repayment of GoP loans till substantial raise in electricity tariff, an official in Wapda told Business Recorder. "We have asked the finance ministry to defer GoP loans till substantial increase in consumer-end tariff," the official said. Wapda has conveyed to the government that it is "unable to collect receivables from Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata)", and stressed that Rs 10 billion should be arranged for the current fiscal year, the official added.
He said that Wapda Chairman Tariq Hamid has also written a letter to Finance Secretary Nawid Ahsan, in which its financial position has been brought to the notice of the federal government specially due to delay in notification of raised power tariff.
The letter, a copy of which has been provided to this scribe by the Wapda official, says that "continued higher sales growth, coupled with acute shortage of water in the main reservoirs, rising international fuel prices and comparative weakening of rupee vis-à-vis dollar and other hard currencies, Wapda was foreseeing additional burden of Rs 37 billion during the current fiscal year".
Giving the background of prevalent financial crunch, the Wapda chief in his letter said that " as a matter of fact, last adjustment in consumer-end tariff was notified in August 2002".
The quarterly tariff adjustment for fuel price variations was also discontinued by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) after November 20, 2003. Nepra''s decision of January 26, 2004, stated that "in view of the expected separate tariff determinations for the 12 companies segregated from Wapda and its hydroelectric (grid), the applicability of the tariff adjustment formula in its present form for the quarter ending December, 31, 2003 is not required."
The Wapda chief said: "This is unfortunate that neither the companies'' separate tariffs have been notified nor Wapda is getting fuel cost adjustment on the existing tariff base of August 13, 2002." He added that this state of affairs was causing insurmountable pressure on the commercial viability of the utility and needed immediate redressal, as all presentations made to the government bore no fruits.
In January the government had conveyed to the World Bank that the long-awaited increase in power tariff for Wapda consumers would materialise by February 15, but the issue is still pending due to a persistent controversy between the Ministry of Water and Power and Nepra.
The ministry had asked the regulator to provide rationale for the increase in tariff, which was shelved. The regulator replied that it had provided all the relevant calculations required by the ministry. When the ministry did not stop writing letters on tariff issues, the regulator straightaway said that it has nothing to send to the ministry as one of its officials who visited the offices of Nepra had received all the relevant documents.
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