ISLAMABAD: The federal government and the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) government have been unable to agree on electricity tariffs and Water Usage Charges (WUC), with significant differences emerging between federal entities and the AJK authorities.
In a recent meeting chaired by Advisor to the Prime Minister on Inter-Provincial Coordination, Rana Sanaullah Khan, it was noted that multiple discussions had failed to resolve the outstanding WUC issues. The AJK government is pushing for retrospective payments for water usage from the commissioning of the Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project in 2018, a proposal that requires federal cabinet approval.
The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) clarified that WUC payments are linked to the tariff set by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), but AJK does not recognize NEPRA’s jurisdiction. The meeting proposed forming a Pakistan-AJK Joint Energy Commission to address these ongoing issues.
Story by Mushtaq Ghumman
