Kundi Presses Centre Over K-P Energy Dues
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has directed that a formal letter be written to the federal government over the province’s pending net hydel power profit dues. He issued the direction at a meeting of the provincial Energy and Power Department in Peshawar.
Energy Adviser Usman Saifullah Khan, Secretary Energy Muhammad Zubair Khan and other relevant officials attended the session. The secretary briefed the governor on the department’s affairs, ongoing development projects, issues with the federal government, the pending dues, and other matters related to the energy sector.
Governor Kundi stressed the need for effective steps to resolve what he called a long-standing and important issue. He said effective liaison would be maintained with the federal government to address problems in the energy sector and to safeguard the legitimate rights of the province.
The dues question
Net hydel profit is the payment due to a province for power generated from water resources within its territory. For K-P, which hosts major hydropower generation, the claim has run for years and remains a recurring point of friction with the Centre.
The meeting did not put a figure on the outstanding amount in the account reported. What it did settle was the route forward: a formal written claim, backed by a comprehensive working paper, rather than another round of informal discussion.
Governor Kundi directed the energy adviser to prepare that working paper. It must cover concrete proposals on all issues of the Energy Department, ongoing projects and future requirements. The purpose, he said, is to raise matters with the federal government in a coordinated and effective manner so that a sustainable solution to the province’s energy problems can be found.
Projects under review
The meeting reviewed progress and problems on key projects. They include the 94-megawatt Gabral-Kalam hydropower project, the 470-megawatt Kurram hydropower project and the 229-megawatt Kadam power project, along with the Pehur project.
These projects matter beyond their megawatt figures. Hydropower built inside K-P creates construction work, operating jobs and a stronger case for the province’s share of power revenues. Delays and unresolved federal issues slow that chain down, which is why the governor linked project progress to the dues claim in the same meeting.
Officials also briefed the governor on difficulties facing various projects, including the gas blocks of Orakzai, Tirah and Miranshah. Governor Kundi said discussions would be held with federal institutions to resolve gas and other energy-related issues.
Gas, industry and jobs
The meeting also discussed difficulties confronting the province’s oil and gas sector. They included the issue of excise duty on gas, the LPG Policy 2016, allocation of the 10 per cent LPG quota, and the supply of 100 million cubic feet per day of gas to the industrial sector.
That last item is the one with the most direct bearing on jobs. Gas supply to industry decides whether factories in the province can run at capacity, expand, or take on new workers. A shortfall in industrial gas does not stay an energy statistic. It shows up in production, in hiring, and in the province’s ability to attract new industry.
Governor Kundi made that link himself. He said the province must fully use its own resources to promote industrial development and generate new employment opportunities. Once the desired industrial structure and industries are established, he observed, the facilities and allocations obtained from the federal government could also be used more effectively.
In other words, the dues claim is not only about money owed. In the governor’s framing, it is about giving the province the financial room to build industry on its own resources, and then to use federal support on top of that base rather than in place of it.
What happens next
All relevant matters will be raised effectively with the federal government, the governor said, so that the province can secure its legitimate rights. The working paper ordered at the meeting is the next step. It will set out the province’s case on dues, projects and gas in one document, for coordinated engagement with the Centre.
The meeting, the governor said, underscored the provincial government’s determination to resolve pending financial claims, accelerate hydropower development and ensure adequate gas supply for industry, while maintaining constructive engagement with the Centre.
What is net hydel profit?
Net hydel profit is the payment due to a province for electricity generated from water resources within its territory. K-P has pressed the claim with the federal government for years.
