CJ takes suo moto notice of Naudero RPP scam

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry took suo moto notice of the Naudero Rental Power Plant scam on Friday, based on a report published in The Express Tribune.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had uncovered a multi-million dollar fraud in advance payments to Naudero-II and Guddu rental power projects.
Writing for The Express Tribune, Faisal Shakeel had reported that Nepra had declined to approve a fresh tariff for Naudero-II after discovering that the project’s equipment belonged to Guddu rental power project, which had been dismantled illegally.

Seeking fresh tariff for Naudero-II through a petition before Nepra, the Central Power Generation Co Ltd (CPGCL) said 14 per cent advance payment of US $11.28 million was made for the project in April 2010. “It has been observed that the 14 per cent advance payments of $10.15 million was also paid for the same machines for Guddu rental power plant having a capacity of 110 MW,” Nepra said.
“The authority considers that the payment of advance rental of 14 per cent for Naudero-II cannot be considered a prudent decision while CPGCL had already paid 14 per cent advance for the same machinery at Guddu,” it added.

The Supreme Court was also already looking into allegations of huge kickbacks in awarding contracts for the RPPs. The apex court had also directed Nepra to provide the relevant record of the RPPs and fine those who had failed to meet the deadlines.
Notices have been issued to WAPDA, PEPCO and other Power production Companies. The hearing of the case will take place along with the rental power project case.