IPPs in Pakistan are receiving billions of rupees while not generating any electricity.

In the worst-case scenario, power plant agreements have led to capacity payments to independent power producers (IPPs), which are fully funded by the impoverished population.

The five priciest IPPs in Pakistan, as per Khawar Ghuman, are included below.

Rousch Power Plant: Operating for 30 years and built in 1999, it charges 745 PKR per unit for power.

China Power Hub: At Rs350 per unit, the plant generates power.

At 177 PKR per unit, Port Qasim Electric offers energy.

Established in 1999, Saba Power Plant generated energy at a rate of 117 PKR per unit for a duration of 30 years.

At a cost of 95 PKR per unit, the Pakgen Power Plant generates electricity.

What Does a Capacity Payment Mean?
In order to ensure that the power-producing firm can continue to generate electricity and meet additional demand, customers must pay a monthly capacity payment. This payment is known as the capacity payment.

It’s noteworthy that US dollars, not Pakistani rupees, are used to pay IPPs for capacity.

Gohar Ejaz, the former caretaker minister of commerce, has been educating people about the government’s errors and how, if left unchecked, they will worsen the nation’s economic circumstances through his remarks and social media posts.

Dr. Gohar Ejaz described in detail the performance of the five most costly power plants in the nation in one of his postings.

The Rousch Power Plant received payments of Rs1.28 billion between January and March 2024, while not producing any power, according to Dr. Gohar Ejaz. Parallel to this, the China Power Hub was given Rs. 33 billion in the same time frame even though it didn’t generate any electricity. Also compensated, without production, was Port Qasim Electric for over 30 billion PKR.

In addition, Jamshoro Power (GENCO I) received payment of about 930 million PKR—without producing any electricity—and Punjab Thermal Power received payment of over 10 billion PKR between January and March.

Sapphire Electric Limited received 590 million PKR for going three months without generating any electricity, while Seif Power Project was awarded 670 million PKR.