Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: President Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) Dr. Murtaza Mughal has said that former governments inflicted irreversible harm to the power sector by signing highly controversial power purchase agreements with the private sector that crippled masses, industry and agriculture. He said that the deals not only resulted in unbelievable profits for the private power sector but also increased tariff by 25 to 30 percent as compared to regional countries badly hitting the economy.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said the former governments violated PPRA rules, third party audit system and established power plants hundreds of miles away from the source resulting in phenomenal losses. Power production was focused while transmission and distribution was ignored that resulted in production of 38 thousand megawatts of electricity while the system was only able to transmit 16 thousand megawatts of electricity, he added.
President PEW said the government was bound to pay billions to the IPPs despite the fact that thousands of megawatts of electricity was not used by it. The former governments signed sovereign agreements with IPPs burdening masses and itself under unsustainable debt, he said, adding that the current government inherited Rs1.2 trillion in the infamous circular debt which has been doubled in it’s tenure.
