ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has rejected the Central Power Purchasing Agency Guarantee Limited’s (CPPA-G) petition to modify the tariff for Star Hydro Power Company. The petition, which sought to revise the tariff by excluding Principal Debt Damages awarded by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), was deemed inadmissible due to insufficient legal grounds.
Star Hydro Power Limited (SHPL) operates a 147 MW Patrind Hydro Power Plant in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJ&K). NEPRA previously set the project’s levelized tariff in 2009 and approved the Power Purchase Agreement in 2012. Following various adjustments, the current tariff was determined in July 2020.
The petition, filed in 2022, requested the exclusion of debt damages awarded to SHPL by the LCIA. However, the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) contested the validity of these damages and challenged the LCIA award in court.
The Lahore High Court recently upheld the LCIA award but deducted the disputed amount, leaving no enforceable claim for the Principal Debt Damages. NEPRA concluded that without a final decision from the highest court, the award cannot be enforced, leading to the dismissal of CPPA-G’s petition.
Story by Mushtaq Ghumman
