Ministry of Finance Islamabad: October 11, 2014 Press Release Pakistan-Afghanistan sign agreement on electricity transit fee Pakistan and Afghanistan signed today an agreement on electricity transit fees, taking an important step forward for energy trading between Central and South Asia. The agreement was signed during the Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF in Washington, DC by the Minister of Finance for Pakistan Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar and the Minister of Finance and National Economic Adviser for Afghanistan, Mr. Omar Zakhilwal. The Pakistani side negotiated the price bringing it down from the initial asking price of 2.5 cents to 1.25 cents per KW. It helps to establish the commercial arrangements for 1,300 megawatts (MW) of sustainable regional electricity trade between Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan as part of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project (CASA-1000). “Now that we have agreed on a transit fee for the electricity, I hope we can move forward quickly on this transformational project,” said Senator Dar. “We are ready to realize the CASA–1000 vision and improve energy security and trade for our countries and region,” said Omar Zakhilwal, Minister of Finance for Afghanistan and National Economic Advisor. CASA-1000 will build more than 1,200 kilometers of electricity transmission lines and associated substations to transmit excess summer hydropower energy from existing power generation stations in Tajikistan and the Krgyz Republic to Pakistan and Afghanistan. To oversee the complex, four-country process, and inter-Governmental Council has been established to supervise the design and implementation of the project. In March 2014 for the World Bank Group approved financing for the engineering design, construction and commissioning of transmission lines and three new converter stations. The project would build upon existing power generation stations that will provide the energy to be traded over CASA-1000. Commercial and operating framework for CASA-1000 is specifically based on “open access” principles that will allow additional energy supplying countries to connect with wider regional transmission networks. CASA-1000 will enable the development of the Central Asia South Asia regional electricity market, (CASAREM) – a long-term plan for regional energy trade.
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 19:08:50 +0000
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