Islamabad (Commerce Desk) — The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has accused the federal government of favouring Punjab in the payment of net hydel profit, claiming that Punjab received Rs161 billion while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was paid only Rs88 billion over the past three years.
In a letter sent to the Power Division, the provincial government maintained that under the Constitution, provinces should receive profits in proportion to the environmental, social and economic impacts arising from hydropower generation.
According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, its hydropower projects generated 21.4 billion units of electricity during the fiscal year 2024-25, accounting for 70 percent of the country’s total hydropower generation, while Punjab generated 8 billion units.
The provincial government said the significant difference between the payments received by the two provinces in relation to their hydropower generation indicates that the federal government is failing to fulfil its constitutional responsibility, which amounts to a violation of Article 161(2) of the Constitution.
The letter further stated that WAPDA had acknowledged in one of its reports that there had been an unjustified delay in payments guaranteed by the Central Power Purchasing Agency. According to the report, only one invoice from December 2024 had been paid, while dues for 16 months were still outstanding.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government said WAPDA had requested Rs17 billion per month from the Central Power Purchasing Agency for clearing the outstanding dues, but was receiving only Rs3 billion per month, which was insufficient to clear the arrears.
On the other hand, a Power Division spokesperson rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s claim, saying that Punjab was paid not Rs96.8 billion but only Rs23 billion during the last fiscal year, which was Rs10 billion less than the amount transferred to Peshawar.
The spokesperson explained that the Central Power Purchasing Agency provides WAPDA with the net hydel profit amount through the overall electricity tariff, which also includes operations, maintenance and other approved expenses.