ISLAMABAD: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) has raised alarm over a severe liquidity crunch caused by Rs76.523 billion in outstanding receivables from the power sector, official sources told Business Recorder.
The bulk of these dues — Rs50.431 billion — is owed by Wapda’s power plants, including Rs29.958 billion from Guddu Power, Rs16.615 billion from Nandipur, and smaller amounts from TPS Muzaffargarh, GTPS Faisalabad, GTPS Shahdra, SPS Faisalabad, NGPS Multan, and rented power units Bhikki and Sharqpur. Of this, Rs18.119 billion is disputed gas charges, Rs542 million is other gas charges, and Rs31.462 billion relates to late payment surcharges.
Private IPPs also owe significant amounts, with Liberty Power’s dues at Rs16.397 billion, Kapco at Rs2.253 billion, Orient Power Rs1.441 billion, FKPCL Rs900 million, Sapphire Power Rs409 million, Saif Power Rs313 million, and Halmore Power and Davis Energen each owing Rs88 million. Government-owned plants such as QATPL, NPPMC (Balloki), and NPPMCL (HBS) collectively owe Rs3.779 billion.
SNGPL said the situation stems from inadequate fund releases by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA-G) to the power sector, which in turn delays payments to the gas utility. The company has urged CPPA-G to expedite payments to Wapda, IPPs, and government plants so they can clear their liabilities, enabling SNGPL to meet its own payment obligations to gas suppliers.
Out of the total outstanding, Rs277 million is due from disconnected Wapda units Bhikki and Sharqpur, while Rs88 million is owed by the disconnected IPP Davis Energen.
Story by Mushtaq Ghumman
