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wiredInUSA - March 2013
wiredInUSA - March 2013
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In a briefing by Pakistan’s National Electric
Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to the
senate’s standing committee on water
and power, an official explained that the
Chinese government has refused to allow
China’s Three Gorges Company to invest in
power projects in Azad Kashmir, citing the
area’s disputed status.
During the briefing, Nepra member Khwaja
Mohammad Naeem said that the Chinese
company was also putting pressure on
Nepra to increase the tariff for the Karoot
power project, but that as the tariff increase
did not fall under the domain of Nepra it
could not be addressed. He added that
the authority was negotiating because it
realized that once the project was lost, it
would not be taken up again for at least 15
years, which was “unaffordable.”
The committee expressed concern over
an increase in power tariff for distribution
companies, saying that the authority
was mandated to safeguard consumers’
interest, but that increasing the tariff would
“add to the miseries of the common man.”
The committee also expressed annoyance
over fluctuations in the power tariff
determined by Nepra, and directed the
authority to submit a report regarding tariff
variability during the past year; also asking
if any relief had been given to the people.
ASIA / AFRICA NEWS
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Picture : Alessandro Paiva
i
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China refuses power
investment for Azad Kashmir
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