ECC to approve grant for release of payments to IPPs tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) will approve a technical supplementary grant for 40 percent payment to the independent power producers (IPPs) on Thursday (tomorrow) after the government reached an agreement with them, ARY NEWS reported.

According to sources familiar with the agenda of the ECC meeting, the committee would approve a proposal for re-targeting the second phase of subsidies in the power sector, resulting in the release of payments under a 2002 deal with the IPPs.

The industries and gas production ministry will also present a proposal for priority orders of gas supply in the meeting while a technical grant of Rs2.65 billion for the housing ministry would also be approved.

Moreover, a grant is also likely to be approved from the meeting for advertising the development projects of the incumbent government.

During the last ECC meeting, an increase in the profit margins of petroleum dealers and the oil marketing companies was approved even when the summary was not part of the meeting agenda.

The ECC meeting today included the matter of profit margins of OMCs and petrol dealers as an additional item and okayed the increase which the government had promised them last week after the strike. Now the final approval will be given by the federal cabinet.

For OMCs, the profit margin on petrol and high-speed diesel has been increased from Rs2.97 to now Rs3.68. It is an increase of Re0.71 that is pending approval from the cabinet before the revision notification.

Separately, for the petrol dealers, the profit margin on petrol has been upped Re0.99 to now Rs4.90, and on HSD the approved margin is Rs4.13 with an increase of Re0.83.