KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Renewable Energy has expressed concern over the curtailment of wind power plants.
Atif Ikram Sheikh, president FPCCO, said that this grid infrastructural failure is inflicting billions in revenue losses, driving green energy investors towards bankruptcy, and forcing inflation-weary consumers to bear the brunt of expensive imported fuel.
The FPCCI chief elaborated that, despite definitive sovereign guarantees that transmission bottlenecks in the Gharo-Jhimpir corridors would be removed, the National Grid Company (NGC) and the Independent System & Market Operator (ISMO) have repeatedly failed to upgrade evacuation infrastructure.
Consequently, the national grid is suppressing Pakistan’s cheapest and cleanest source of electricity — available at Rs14 per unit — while the country endures debilitating loadshedding and bleeds scarce foreign exchange on costly imported RLNG and coal.
Sheikh said that the FPCCI’s Central Standing Committee on Renewable Energy has highlighted a tariff irony: under Nepra determinations, wind energy generated beyond the benchmark capacity drops to an unprecedented level of under Rs1 per kWh.
Furthermore, per FPCCI, the Non-Project Missed Volume (NPMV) mechanism recovers only 38 per cent of losses despite 100 per cent plant readiness.The FPCCI warned that launching the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) and wheeling auctions over a congested, failing network will further destabilise the grid.
The FPCCI urgently demanded that the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Energy and Nepra intervene to enforce ‘Must-Run’ Status, Ensure Accountability, Redirect Power to grid and Reform NPMV.
