PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has formally requested the federal government to reinstate its two hydropower projects—Madyan and Gabral-Kalam—into the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2025-35, citing their earlier classification as “Committed Projects.”
In a letter addressed to Federal Minister for Energy Sardar Awais Ahmad Leghari, KP’s Special Assistant on Energy Tariq Saddozai expressed strong reservations over the unilateral changes made by the System Operator (ISMO), which resulted in the exclusion of the province’s key public sector energy projects.
The letter emphasized that under the National Energy Plan and the NEPRA Act, all projects declared as committed in IGCEP 2021 must be retained in subsequent IGCEPs. Altering the criteria midway is not only contrary to the approved policy but also illegal, as it retroactively shifts the rules after commitments and investments have been made.
Saddozai argued that the KP government’s projects have demonstrated significant physical and financial progress, secured NEPRA generation licenses, and obtained concessional financing from the World Bank with federal guarantees. Removing them from the IGCEP now could jeopardize international lending agreements and expose Pakistan to financial penalties and reputational damage.
The letter also criticized the apparent discrimination in the draft IGCEP 2025-35, which retains federal government projects like Dasu, Mohmand, and Tarbela-5 as committed while excluding KP’s projects, despite similar approvals through ECNEC and public funding.
The KP government warned that such exclusions could deter future investments in the province’s power sector and harm Pakistan’s credibility with multilateral lenders. It urged the federal government to honor its own decisions and direct the System Operator to reinstate Madyan and Gabral-Kalam HPPs as Committed Projects in accordance with the Council of Common Interests’ decision dated September 13, 2021.
