NEPRA upbeat for resolving wind sector woes.

Byline: Gul Hassan Bhutto

There have been news headlines in the past few months about severe energy curtailment from wind based private power projects. These are disturbing since wind being a renewable resource and providing cheap energy to the grid, should not be subject to any unnecessary curtailment. It is praiseworthy that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) took notice of these news reports and decided to hold a consultative meeting with the representatives of wind power plants at Jhimpir, Thatta on 6th February 2020.

NEPRA had invited in this meeting participants from other federal government agencies such as CPPAG, NTDC, NPCC, HESCO, K-Electric and executives of the fourteen wind power projects (WPPs). These 14 projects are those to which the government had granted must-run operations status under the Renewable Energy (RE) Policy 2006. This ongoing curtailment has thus created serious concern for the sponsors of these WPPs as this issue can risk their default with local and international lenders and could also lead to their bankruptcy, if immediate measures are not taken.

The core objective of this consultative meeting was to have open and candid discussion among the stakeholders to figure out the cause(s) behind National Transmission and Despatch Company's (NTDC) decision to curtail the WPPs' production. The Authority proactively and optimistically engaged with the stakeholders to understand the reasons of these curtailments, their impact on the operatability, viability and sustainability of renewable power plant in the country and try to resolve the issue in a way that is acceptable to all parties. Chairman NEPRA and the Authority's other members conducted the session in a very pragmatic manner and throughout the meeting were keen to provide guidance and support to find an acceptable solution for all concerned parties.

The Authority acknowledged the pioneering role that was played by the first stream of WPPs during 2014-17 under the RE Policy 2006. It was acknowledged that the low tariffs achieved in the last round were only became possible due to the bold and risk-taking initiative of these projects and which has helped a great deal in creating a bankable template for the local and international financiers. The historically robust policy framework and security package offered by the Government of Pakistan have been instrumental in attracting local and foreign developers and debt financing from the leading...