Govt claims saving Rs1.5tr by revisiting IPP contracts

The government on Monday claimed to have secured about Rs1.571 trillion in savings in future payments to a total of 27 independent power producers (IPPs) through negotiations so far, while another ‘unwilling’ producer would have to undergo a forensic audit. This was the key takeaway from a presentation made by a power division team — comprising federal minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Muhammad Ali and federal secretary Muhammad Fakhre Alam Irfan — before the Senate Standing Committee on Power, led by Senator Mohsin Aziz. “The above savings will be passed on to the consumers through changes in agreements and tariffs over the contracting period,” read one of the slides presented to the Senate panel.