PESHAWAR, April 4: The Awami National Party (ANP) has demanded that Wapda should pay for hydel power generated by NWFP’s power generation units equal to rates being paid to independent power producers (IPPs).

ANP’s demand came in reaction to federal minister for water and power Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao’s recent statement in which he said that NWFP had been giving inflated estimates of its share on account of net hydel profit in the provincial budget and that with decrease in hydel power generation the province’s share decreased.

Replying to the points made against NWFP by Mr Sherpao, the ANP’s central secretary information Haji Mohammed Adeel, in a press statement issued here on Friday, said: “Wapda never provided true information to the province viz-a-viz power generation unit of Tarbela and Warsak, hence, it is out of question that the province has been making inflated estimates.”

“Being chief minister of the province Mr Sherpao, too, has been relying on the projections of the A. G. N. Kazi formula, hence, how could he regards the exercise as wrong now,” Mr Adeel said, who has also been finance minister of the province.

Mr Adeel said that if Kazi formula was applied in its true perspective the NWFP’s share on account of net hydel profit would be much more than what the province had been getting for the last nine months.

He said the ANP was of the view that Wapda should pay for hydel power at a rate what it was paying to IPPs against the thermal power.

He added that Wapda did not calculate additional surcharge paid by consumers over and above the power tariff as a component of the price of the power but according to a decision of the supreme court the same (additional surcharge) formed part of the price of electricity.

Similarly, he added, according to the A. G. N. Kazi formula additional surcharge, too formed part of the sale price of electricity.

“If additional surcharge,” Mr Adeel said, “is calculated in the sale price of electricity then NWFP’s share would get a major boost in comparison with the amount it was receiving at present.”

He also criticized Mr Sherpao for not facilitating the NWFP to get resumed releases of net hydel profit during the current financial year.

Out of a total of Rs six billion capped share amount for the current financial year the province has so far received Rs one billion by the close of the first nine months of the current fiscal year.

He said Wapda was not making payments to the province citing non-recovery of arrears from the public sector organizations.

“This (non-recovery) is not NWFP’s problem as under the Constitution Water and Power Development Authority is bound to pay the net profit share on regular basis to the province,” he said.

He said the NWFP should be treated at par with the IPPs. “If IPPs keep on getting regular payments despite Wapda line losses, the NWFP too should be released funds on regular basis,” he pointed out.