ISLAMABAD : Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz has said that providing cheap electricity to the consumers on a sustainable basis is the top priority of the government. Addressing a press conference along with Special Assistant on Power Shahzad Qasim here on Saturday, the information minister said that a basic agreement has been signed with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) as a first major step towards providing cheap electricity to the consumers.
“We have successfully held talks with the IPPs and signed a renewed deal with them,” he said. The information minister regretted that expensive power contracts were signed in the past and it is not possible to undo them unilaterally. He said expensive electricity was the main concern of Prime Minister Imran Khan and he wanted to address the issue on an immediate basis. Hence a team was constituted which held negotiations with the IPPs to revisit the old contracts. The information minister said under the agreement signed with the IPPs, payments will only be made for the electricity acquired and consumed instead of the total installed capacity of a particular power plant. Similarly, the equity return will now be made in rupee rather than the US dollar, as was the past practice. Shahzad Qasim said that the NEPRA would examine the performance of the power units run by the IPPs.