ISLAMABAD: The government’s investigation team summoned 13 independent power producers (IPPs) owners to Islamabad after it discovered “additional profiteering” by power plants established under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),
The sources added that with Special Assistant to PM (SAPM) on Power Division Muhammad Ali playing a key role in the probe, the IPP owners have been directed to bring financial reports today.
The development comes after the Senate’s Functional Committee on Devolution, last month, directed the related ministry to conduct a forensic audit of the IPPs with chair Dr Zarqa Suharwardy Taimur expressing concerns about the functioning of the IPPs and the lack of transparency in contracts with them. The IPPs have been in the light for some time now over their alleged involvement in exorbitant electricity bills that have drawn a strong reaction from the inflation-weary masses.
There have been calls to review the government’s existing agreements with the IPP — the most notable one coming from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) which staged a 14-day sit-in in Rawalpindi and demanded the renegotiation of contracts with the IPPs among other things.