ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday proposed that the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) form a committee to collaborate with the President’s Office in finding a feasible solution to the issue of paying capacity charges to independent power producers (IPPs).

The president made these remarks during a meeting with an FPCCI delegation, which included businessmen and office-bearers from 40 regional business associations, led by former commerce minister Gohar Ejaz, at Aiwan-i-Sadr.

An official announcement said President Zardari called for a win-win solution to address the rising energy costs in the country. The FPCCI has already announced plans to challenge capacity payments to IPPs in the Supreme Court.

Despite widespread complaints about high electricity bills, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Power Minister Awais Leghari have yet to address the issue of IPP capacity payments.

Calls for collaborative solution to address high energy costs

According to the FPCCI, the capacity payment agreements with IPPs were signed during the tenure of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in 2015. After receiving no response from the PML-N government, the FPCCI approached PPP leader Asif Ali Zardari for intervention.

During his discussion with the delegation, President Zardari announced that his office would work with a smaller committee from the business community to find a win-win solution for all. He acknowledged the challenges faced by Pakistani businesses, which are struggling with high input, energy and fuel costs.

Former minister Gohar Ejaz highlighted that rising energy costs were burdening citizens, industry, agriculture, and the export sector. He stressed the need for energy sector reforms to reduce prices and urged the president to intervene to resolve the issues faced by Pakistan’s industries due to high electricity prices.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2024