AAMIR SAEED

ISLAMABAD: As many as 15 different projects of solar, wind and bagasse will add 626 megawatts of electricity in the national grid by November next year.

Minister for Power Division Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari informed this to National Assembly on Friday during the question hour.

He said that the government is bringing an energy plan to produce electricity keeping in view the future requirements of the country, saying that renewable energy projects are at various stages of completion.

The minister also informed the House that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has determined multi-year predefined tariffs for coal power plants and transmission line projects launched under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) whereas cost plus tariff was determined for hydro-power project under the CPEC.

Generally, multi-year tariffs are available to these projects for the period of 25-30 years, he said, adding the renewable energy based (wind and solar) power generation projects under CPEC are being developed on IPP mode through private sector.

The minister said the tariff for such projects is also awarded by the NEPRA, which is a predetermined tariff.

Previously NEPRA allowed 20.5 percent internal rate of return on investment (“IRR”) in upfront tariff determination for Thar coal power projects, he said, adding that in order to reduce the cost of long term projects, NEPRA has allowed 18 percent IRR in upfront tariff for Thar coal based power projects.

He said that resultantly the previous upfront tariff Cents 8.3341/kWh allowed by NEPRA to capacity of 660 MW on foreign financing was revised to Cents 7.2275/kWh tariff for a similar capacity on foreign financing. However, tariffs determined for hydropower projects are site specific and are on cost plus basis.

The upfront tariffs are determined by the NEPRA based on latest applicable projects costs for relevant technologies, he said, adding that under upfront tariffs, the government is only liable for the tariff and any increase in project cost does not increase the tariff.

To another question, Parliamentary Secretary for Petroleum Division, Shahzadi Umarzadi informed the House that the government is committed to executing Iran-Pakistan Gas Pipeline project. She said the multilateral and unilateral sanctions on Iran have halted the progress on the project.

She informed the House that gas supply situation in winter this year will be far better than previous years.

The minister of state for science and technology informed the House that results of the water quality monitoring efforts of Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) indicate that 69 to 85 percent collected samples of water were contaminated.

Furthermore, according to the World Health Organization/UNICEF report, only 36 percent of Pakistan’s population (41 percent urban and 32 percent rural) is using safe drinking water, he said. The minister said that provision of safe drinking water falls within the purview of provincial governments after the 18th amendment to the Constitution.

Earlier, the National Assembly observed one minute silence to pay homage to Dina-Wadia, the daughter of Quaid-e-Azam, who passed away on Thursday.