ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Regional Coal Association (PRCA) has raised concerns regarding the committee’s report on coal procurement for the 1,320 MW imported coal-fired Sahiwal Power Plant.
In a letter addressed to various authorities, including Power Minister Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, the association referenced a complaint from May 9, 2024 and the Nepra’s fact-finding committee report related to the writ petition of Harris Amin Bhatti vs the Federation of Pakistan.
While the association appreciated the committee’s efforts, it expressed dissatisfaction with the report, particularly its failure to address key concerns regarding HSR’s non-compliance and discriminatory practices.
Power sector: contributions of Sahiwal coal-fired power plant
“Critically, the report’s failure to consider the complaint about spot procurement contravenes the court order of October 2, 2024, which mandates NEPRA to consider the opinions of all suppliers,” the association noted. They also pointed out that although the committee’s notification lists several complaints, many were not adequately addressed.
As a result, the report provided an incomplete and inadequate assessment of the situation, notably omitting the following crucial points:
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Discriminatory spot procurement: While acknowledging general favoritism, it ignored unequal delivery acceptance (HSR halted ours while accepting another’s), payment disparity (preferred supplier received full payment ours is delayed), and inconsistent deduction application. The report omitted approximately Rs380 million owed to the association by HSR for May 12, 2023 contracts. This delay caused significant hardships and lack of confidence for suppliers, other than the preferred Awan Trading, to participate in the prospective tenders. This limited competi6on, which in turn negatively impacted the public in form of higher electricity prices.
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Different FCC deductions by NEPRA: The report ignored the discrepancy between association’s FCC deductions (Rs10,280/per MT) and the preferred supplier’s (Rs6,276/per MT), inconsistent with NEPRA’s July27,2023 decision (Rs7,280/per MT. NEPRA should justify this.
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NEPRA Guidelines violation (Clause XXIV): The report omitted HSR’s failure to establish a Complaint Redressal Committee, as mandated by Clause XXIV.
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Unjustified and contradictory deductions by HSR: The report failed to acknowledge the deduction discrepancy (association’s Rs10,280 Vs Awan’s, Nil), i.e. deducting association payments whilst completely paying Awan Trading in the same contract. HSR should justify this.
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Forced partial payment: The report omitted HSR forcing the Association to accept only 80 per cent of invoiced amounts to proceed with deliveries whilst allowing Awan without any such pre-conditions.
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Correlation between spot and long-term issues: While focusing on the long-term contract, the report failed to investigate discriminatory practices in spot procurement tenders. These omissions are essential as spot supplier and supplies, barring Awan, were deliberately obstructed to create grounds for getting into a tailor-made long-term contract.
The PRCA has urged the Nepra to immediately seek an explanation from HSR regarding the discriminatory practices in May 12, 2023 contracts, including unequal delivery acceptance, payment disparity and different deductions applied, clarify the relevant FCC deduction and its consistency with NEPRA July 27, 2023 decision, investigate HSR’s Clause XXIV compliance regarding a Complaint Redressal Committee and address the minister’s letter’s questions regarding audits, guidelines, competition, and consumer protection.
“We urge NEPRA to take swift and decisive action to rectify these issues and ensure fair and transparent practices in coal procurement,” said the association.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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