Government asked to facilitate wind, solar power projects

Islamabad, October 25, 2015 (PPI-OT): Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) on Sunday asked the government to promote alternative energy projects. Solar and wind power projects should be encouraged to balance national energy mix and combat pollution, it said. NEPRA determined upfront tariff for solar power at Rs4.2 in January attracting investors for an encouraging start but now the regulator wants to reduce it to Rs9.25 which has unnerved the investors, said Samina Fazil, founder President IWCCI.

Government should take note of the large drop of 30 percent in the tariff as the move has shaken the confidence of the business community which is the engine of growth, she added. She said that NEPRA should justify why an attractive tariff was announced and why it is being slashed after nine months making many projects infeasible sending negative signals.

Some investors are of the opinion that this move is aimed to benefit a few investors while punishing others. She said that few months back NEPRA cut tariff of wind power by 20 percent from Rs 13.16 to 10.60 and turned a deaf year to the protest of investors and the Sindh government. She said that government should prefer wind power over solar energy as the former runs with 38.5 per cent efficiency while the solar power plants have 17 percent efficiency.

For more information, contact:
Samina Fazil,
President,
Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI)
Mobile: +92-323-5343199
Tel: +92-51-2252256