Director Consumers Affairs, NTDC, Engineer Imtiaz Hussain Baloch, while addressing at a meeting of local industrialists and businessmen in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) has said that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) is trying to promote a competition-based electricity market in Pakistan enabling consumers to purchase electricity from the company of their own choice.
He said that the fundamental responsibilities of NEPRA is to issue license to power generating companies, fix the electricity tariff and implement NEPRA laws as a regulatory in addition to protecting the rights and interests of the consumers.
He admitted that the price of electricity is high in Pakistan as compared to the other regional countries but its main cause is that we are producing maximum costly electricity in the basket of our energy mix.
He said that after 1992, no major hydel power plant was installed excluding 84 megawatt hydel unit which was established in private sector. He said that now efforts are being made to produce cheap electricity through coal fired power plants. He hoped that its impacts are expected to be passed on to the consumers after 2018.
Engineer Imtiaz Hussain Baloch also endorsed a proposal of holding tariff determination meetings regarding FESCO in Faisalabad and assured that next meeting in this respect will definitely be held in Faisalabad.
He further told that a comprehensive procedure has been worked out to purchase surplus electricity from the private sector and under this arrangement any power producer could give surplus electricity at one point and receive it back from another point. Regarding net metering in Faisalabad, he said that the person being discouraged in this respect by FESCO could file their cases to NEPRA so that action could be taken against them accordingly.
Earlier in his address of welcome, President FCCI Engineer Muhammad Saeed Sheikh said that industry is imperative for the progress and prosperity of Pakistan while energy is prerequisite to keep the industrial wheel in motion.
He thanked government for supplying electricity round the clock to the industrial sector but added that now its rates should be reduced in order to cut down the cost of doing business in Pakistan.
He told that in Pakistan the electricity tariff is 14 cents while it is being available at 9 cents in India and Sri Lanka. He said that NEPRA should play it role in reducing electricity tariff so that our exporters could compete with our regional competitors.
Later, President FCCI Engineer Muhammad Saeed Sheikh presented FCCI memento to Engineer Imtiaz Hussain Baloch, Director Consumers Affairs NEPRA.
