LAHORE, July 3: The federal task force on power tariff reduction on Thursday decided to “go to the public for finding out ways and means for reducing the power tariff”.

Federal Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao had recently formed the 18-member task force to suggest “measures and proposals for a possible reduction in the power tariff”, following a prime minister’s directive.

At its first meeting at Islamabad, the force studied old proposals in this regard and decided to take the matter to the general public. “It is because Wapda has become stagnant as a public utility, both physically and intellectually,” said one of the participants. The present management seems to have run out of ideas as far as tariff-reduction is concerned. People’s input would also build pressure on Wapda in this regard, he said.

“But, all distribution and generation companies have filed independent tariff petitions with Nepra and would soon be getting a decision on them,” claimed an official of Wapda.

This was one of the conditionalities for the World Bank-driven reforms. In these circumstances, how would the authority be able to influence the tariff was anybody’s guess, he said.

The force is supposed to file recommendations within 60 days but it took it 15 days to hold the first meeting. One can imagine what it would achieve, he insisted.

The task force includes convener Mirza Hamid Hassan, former secretary for water and power, MNA Ishaq Khakwani, an electrical engineer, Saeed Khan Niazi, a former member (power) of Wapda, consultant S.M. Bhutta, former Wapda employee Imtiaz Qazilbash, additional finance secretary Tehsin Khan Iqbal, Abdur Rahim, representative of the NWFP in Nepra, the managing director of Hubco, Wapda GM (Finance) Mohammad Amjad, Karachi Electricity Supply Company chief financial officer Jalaluddin Qureshi, the director general (gas) at the ministry of petroleum and natural resources, the president of FPCCI, the managing director of PSO, the managing director of PARCO, the director of SNGPL, the managing director of Pak-Oman Company and the managing director of Power Privatization Infrastructure Board.

The force has been told to convene its meetings as and when required. The Power Privatization Infrastructure Board has been asked to provide secretarial support to the task force.