Neelum-Jhelum to resume power generation from July

The 969-megawatt Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project would get back to power generation by July after a year-long closure due to tunnel collapse and K-Electric (KE) is entering into a 10-year agreement with the federal government for enhancing its intake from national grid to 2,600MW. These were the upshot of the two separate public hearings on increase in fuel charges for the consumers of KE and ex-Wapda Distribution Companies (Discos) conducted by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Thursday but could not reach a conclusive decision. During the discussion on expensive power generation, Nepra Chairman Tauseef H. Farooqui said the Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project was expected to come back into production in July — almost a year after it was abruptly closed because of tunnel collapse. Representatives of the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) told the hearing that the power generation cost was higher than the reference cost due to the lower availability of hydropower generation as the 969-MW plan remained closed.