ISLAMABAD: The Independent Power Producers Advisory Council (IPPAC) has said neither the IPPAC nor any Independent Power Producer (IPP) was consulted or approached in preparing the inquiry committee’s report over alleged losses in the power sector.

The allegations being levelled against the IPPs about un­fair agreements and misappropriation in tariff and fuel con­­sumption rates are ill-conceived, unfounded, baseless and disappointing, which are causing serious damage to their rep­utation, according to an IPPAC statement issued on Sunday.

It said the IPPs gave their sweat and blood for the country’s development at a time when no one was willing to invest in Pakistan. “The IPPs have empowered an uncertain economy, which had not witnessed such a sizeable quantum of Foreign Direct Investment ever in the past,” it added.

Say witch-hunting will only have negative fallout for Pakistan

The statement highlighted that the government had not paid the IPPs for years, with the result that the IPPs were at the brink of default being owed around Rs600 billion, yet they continued to remain available to provide uninterrupted power supply while keeping the greater national interest at the forefront.

Previously, the government had given a lot of relaxations to nine IPPs in the form of a settlement agreement in national interest. But it was the government that remained unable to obtain formal approval(s) to implement the same, the IPPAC said, adding that the opportunity had been lost. The Settl­ement Agreement was consented to by such IPPs that had won the Arbitral Award by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) in 2017 for the recovery of unpaid capacity payments, which had been deducted in contravention of legally valid and binding power purchase agreements.

The statement recalled that similar witch-hunting exercises in the past had caused immense damage to the investment climate and economic prospects of the country and if nothing was learnt from the past mistakes, it would again lead to the same negative results.

The IPPs had always remained available to engage in a meaningful dialogue with the government to discuss and find an amicable solution to the most pressing needs of the country. In the prevalent conditions, given the Covid-19 pandemic, the IPPAC and IPPs were ready to do their part to help the Pakistan economy and nation during this time of need, in addition to providing uninterrupted power supply.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2020