State-run companies of Pakistan and China have finalised a 30-year tariff at 7.9 cents per unit for $2.4 billion Kohala Hydropower Project of 1,100MW capacity in Azad Kashmir.
The National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and China International Water and Electric Corporation (CWE) — a subsidiary of Three Gorges Dam — have reached the agreement on feasibility stage tariff.
The tariff is subject to approval by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) as a formality.
The NTDC has now officially sought Nepra’s consent for the agreed tariff given the special legal status of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The project is located on the river Jhelum downstream of Muzaffarabad and Kohala. CWE of China is required to construct the project on build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis.
Under the agreement, the average tariff for first 12 years has been set at 8.9 cents per unit which would come down to 5.1 cents per unit for next 18 years. The average tariff for 30-year life of the project works out at 7.9 cents per unit.