The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has clarified a news item published on Sunday in a section of the press.
The spokesman for the Authority said the National Assembly Standing Committee on water and power had asked Wapda to give them the current purchase price from the Independent Power Producers (IPPs), which run on furnace oil as the cost of oil is a pass-through item to Wapda.
He clarified that the Wapda chairman presented the average purchase price of energy in the last 12 months and gave the negative effect of this purchase on Wapda finances.
He apprised the Committee that Authority paid Rs 151.3 billion to IPPs during the last fiscal year and this amount is likely to rise to Rs 200 billion for the current fiscal year. However, no figure of the required increase in tariff was given by the Wapda chairman as this is worked out by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) and notified by the Government of Pakistan, the spokesman added.-PR