ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: With the energy crisis deteriorating, wind-power producers (WPPs) on Thursday backed out of an agreed power tariff of 9.5 cents per unit for sale to Pakistan, saying their input costs have increased substantially.

A meeting presided over by Minister for Water and Power Liaquat Ali Jatio encouraged the sponsors of 15 wind projects to hold a meeting with the chairman of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to discuss their problems.

Informed sources said the sponsors told the meeting that the delay in signing of agreements for power purchase had led to an increase in wind power turbines by 40 per cent, while the cost of infrastructure had also increased since August last year when their levelised tariffs were put at 9.5 cents per unit.

The minister told the sponsors that if they agreed to the approved tariff, the government would sign deals with them within a week. Otherwise, they should file separate petitions and Nepra would decide their cases within three weeks.

Nepra representatives told the meeting that they would decide the new petitions on merit. The minister assured the investors of solving their genuine problems.

Nepra had approved 9.5 cents per unit tariff for wind power projects to be set up in the Gharo and Keti Bandar corridor near Karachi. The same tariff was later offered to all under the Alternate Energy Policy announced last month, compared to 4.7 cents per unit of hydel projects.

The wind power projects have been allowed a tariff of 11.75 cents (about Rs7.05 per unit) for the first 10 years, and 3.7 cents (Rs2.2) per unit for the next 10 years. As such the levelised tariff for 20 years of the project life comes to 9.5 cents (Rs5.7) per unit. The tariff has been assumed 97 per cent plant availability, about 12 per cent interest rate and debt-to-equity ratio of 80:20 per cent.

On the other hand, gas-based projects have been offered a tariff of more than eight cents, furnace oil-based plants 13 cents and diesel-based projects 15 cents.