Government set to launch forensic audit of IPPs unwilling to negotiate
Pakistan
Plant established under 1994 policy refused to negotiate with ministry and faces audit
ISLAMABAD (Zeeshan Yousafzai) – The federal government will start a forensic audit of independent power producers (IPPs) that refuse to engage in negotiations.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Energy Muhammad Ali told the Senate Standing Committee that the government's task force was in talks with the IPPs.
However, a power plant established under the 1994 policy has refused to negotiate, prompting the government to proceed with a forensic audit. He added that NEPRA had already placed advertisements in international newspapers to hire an auditor for the process.
Ali further stated that any power plant unwilling to enter negotiations would also be subjected to a forensic audit, with the Ministry of Energy set to issue relevant directives.
Providing an update on financial recoveries, he revealed that Rs35 billion were reclaimed from IPPs running on furnace oil and gas.
These funds were allegedly overpaid by previous governments on the pretext of fuel costs, operations, and maintenance expenses.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari briefed the committee on loadshedding schedules, assuring that power outages would be minimised during Ramazan.
He highlighted that uninterrupted electricity supply would be ensured nationwide during Sehr and Iftar. Efforts will also be made to provide power to high-loss feeders - those experiencing losses exceeding 80pc - during these critical hours.
