LAHORE, Jan 7: Wapda chairman Lt-Gen Zulfikar Ali Khan claimed on Monday that the average power tariff had gone up by only 10 paisas to Rs3.58 per unit from Rs3.48 per unit since May 1999 in spite of a more than 100 per cent increase in the cost of fuels like furnace oil and gas.
Speaking to businessmen here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the chairman said the price of furnace oil had risen to Rs10,300 (it once touched Rs14,000) per ton from Rs5,500 on May 16 1999. Similarly, the gas rates had swelled to Rs189 per 100 units from Rs82 during the same period. He sad the power tariff had been raised by only 10 paisas. “It is also in spite of the fact that we have to depend on thermal energy for 80 per cent of supplies due to a shortage of water in rivers.”
The chairman said with the commissioning of IPPs in the recent years, Wapda had to incur additional costs. “We paid Rs42 billion to the IPPs in 1998-99, Rs54 billion in 1999-00, and Rs88 billion in 2000-01. By the end of this financial year, we’d end up paying Rs104 billion to the IPPs.”
He said the Wapda was making efforts to bring down its generation, transmission and distribution losses to 23 per cent. He said the losses had stood at 42 per cent in 1998, when the army was inducted to manage the utility. He said the losses had been slashed by improving power distribution and reducing theft.
Dilating on the accomplishments of the military-led management in the Wapda, he said the revenue had been gone to Rs132 billion last year from Rs92 billion in 1999. It was expected to rise to Rs165 billion this year despite the fact that a tariff increase requested by the Wapda to offset its losses had not been allowed.
He said the utility had also improved its service to customers. He claimed that action had been taken against 2,097 Wapda officials, including some chief engineers.
Regarding the subsidy given by the Wapda to consumers in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and in Azad Kashmir, he said it was government policy and the utility could not refuse to comply with it.
Replying to a question, he said the Wapda had collected Rs23 billion as general sales tax on power bills for the Central Board for Revenue this year. He said he had asked the government to withdraw the tax on power bills.
He also announced the constitution of a committee led by the Lahore Electricity Supply Company chief with a couple of business representatives on it to solve the problems faced by the industry.
He said the Wapda had signed a memorandum of understanding with a Chinese company to set up a model, micro hydel power unit in each of the four provinces. He said the Wapda would ensure guaranteed profits for the private sector if it decided to establish such projects.
He said the businessmen must raise the issue of expensive power for the industry with the government. Several nations including India, Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, he said, allowed subsidy on power to support their industry. India alone, he said, provided a subsidy of Rs200 billion on power every year.