ISLAMABAD(National Times)- The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday proposed deferring the privatisation of power companies, expected to take place in January, until their assets, machinery, land and other properties are properly assessed and revalued to prevent potential losses to the national exchequer.
The proposal came after Auditor General of Pakistan Maqbool Ahmad Gondal raised concerns that the government was relying on outdated valuations of public assets during a meeting of the PAC to examine the audit reports of the Power Division and its attached entities for 2024-25.
The committee observed that the management had failed to revalue fixed assets worth Rs624.47 billion.
The Auditor General’s office also pointed out that the companies had not tagged their assets, reflecting negligence in complying with directives of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).
It said property, plant and equipment were key components of financial statements, and inaccurate valuations could distort a company’s overall financial position.
PAC Chairperson Shahida Begum said the actual value of the assets needed to be determined and properly categorised before proceeding with privatisation.
“Until we know their exact value, how can we privatise them? If the assets are sold without proper valuation, it will definitely result in a loss for the government,” she said.
She called for another meeting in three weeks to review the privatisation process and ensure that the assets were assigned their correct market values before further steps were taken.
The Privatisation Commission and the Power Division were directed to submit detailed reports at the next meeting.
Rs8.6bn payments questioned
The committee also examined audit objections concerning payments of Rs8.648bn borne by electricity consumers because of poor planning, faulty procurement of equipment and deficiencies in the performance of a grid station and its associated transmission line.
During a performance audit of the power transmission system for wind projects in the Sindh Wind Corridor, auditors found that Rs8.6bn had been paid to wind power producers under the Non-Project Missed Volume (NPMV) mechanism.
The projects were ready to supply electricity, but the 220kV Jhimpir Grid Station could not handle their full output because of frequent tripping and system instability.
The management attributed the losses to faulty equipment procurement and worsening climate change conditions.
MNA Munazza Hassan took exception to the response when National Grid Managing Director Altaf Hussain attributed the loss to climate change. Calling it criminal negligence, MNA Shazia Marri lamented resistance to renewable technologies.
Regarding the Rs8.6bn amount, she said the matter had not been settled and that further details would be sought at the next meeting, along with the relevant inquiry report.
She said the issue would be taken up again after the required information and assessments had been completed.
