Former President of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Dr. Shahid Rasheed Butt has that the silence of influential on IPPs issue is proof of their collusion in the conspiracy. In a statement issued here on Wednesday, he said the IPP project initiated in the 1990s bankrupted the country and destroyed the masses. Still, the politicians and bureaucrats never raised their voices against this plunder. Dr Shahid Rasheed Butt said that the attitude of politicians and top power bureaucracy reveals their priorities regarding the country and the nation. He said that now when matters have gone out of control, a few politicians are starting to speak up. However, the major political parties are still silent spectators, indicating their lack of concern about the country and the masses. The business leader said that some companies installing IPPs in Pakistan have installed IPPs of the same capacity in neighboring countries and Arab countries whose tariffs are half that of Pakistan.

Still, the matter was never investigated as it would expose the political elite.  He said the honor of starting the IPPs belongs to the People's Party. Still, the other major parties of the country have also left no stone unturned in this regard. At this time, IPPs have become a significant threat to the country's integrity. Pakistan has to make a capacity payment of 2091 billion rupees to IPPs for the current financial year. The estimated capacity payment for state-run nuclear plants is 465.7 billion rupees, the payment for hydropower plants is 446.4 billion rupees, and for imported coal power plants is 395.4 billion rupees, and 256 billion rupees will be paid to Thar coal power plants as capacity payment. Power plants run on furnace oil, wind, LNG, gas, bagasse, and solar power plants and pay billions of rupees. Shahid Rashid Butt said that despite not generating electricity, one power plant was paid one and a quarter billion rupees in three months despite not producing a unit of electricity.

Similarly, another company received Rs 33 billion. In comparison, another company was paid around Rs 30 billion, generating only electricity for a short time. Additionally, another Punjab-based company received around Rs 10 billion from January to March, and a Sindh-based company received around Rs 930 million without generating any electricity. Another company was paid Rs 670 million, while another received Rs 590 million during these three months without electricity. Four power plants get 10 billion rupees monthly while the electricity supply is zero. The contracts of IPPs bind the government, but 80% of Pakistani IPP owners should understand that they have earned trillions of rupees with the help of these questionable contracts. The greedy owners of IPPs must reduce their profits and understand that they will only generate handsome money if the country remains, Mr. Butt warned.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan