PAKISTAN'S SUPREME COURT: ONE STEP CLOSER TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISLAMABAD 001724 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN ENRG PGOV PK SUBJECT: PAKISTAN'S SUPREME COURT: ONE STEP CLOSER TO ALLOWING ELECTRICITY TARIFF HIKE? REF: A. ISLAMABAD 1525 ¶B. LAHORE 0154 ¶C. ISLAMABAD 1625 This message has been coordinated with Consulates Karachi and Lahore. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a partial reversal of its July 6 ruling ordering the GOP to refrain from raising the electricity tariff, the Supreme Court ruled on July 23 that the National Electric Power Regulatory Agency (NEPRA) could continue to calculate the cost recovery tariff rate for power production and distribution. The Supreme Court also declared that its investigation of the tariff issue would be concluded in three weeks. While the ruling and timetable for concluding the investigation could indicate the court is backing away from its opposition to higher electricity prices, there is increasing public unrest due to massive power outages around the country, in particular in Karachi, brought about by a combination of severe storms and an overburdened and under-fueled electricity system. End Summary. AN (INTERIM) STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION -------------- ¶2. (SBU) On July 6, the Supreme Court ruled that National Electric Power Regulatory Agency (NEPRA) could not increase electricity tariff rates by a proposed 17.5 percent until it was able to justify its need to do so to the Court's satisfaction, and that the court would hold the GOP in contempt if it carried out the planned rate hikes. NEPRA Legal Advisor Iftikhar Ahmed confirmed to Econoff July 24 press reports that the Supreme Court had on July 23 partially reversed itself and would allow NEPRA to resume calculating the tariff level necessary to recover the costs of power production and distribution. The Supreme Court, however, is still pursuing its inquiries with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Water and Power, the two government bodies responsible for determining energy subsidies and therefore the final power tariff paid by consumers. The Court announced it would conclude its investigation in three weeks. ¶3. (SBU) The tariff issue is being investigated by a three-judge panel headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. The other two justices, Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Jawwad Khawaja, are both former corporate lawyers, who according to NEPRA Director General Hussain Barbur, "understand the economic realities" behind the proposed tariff hike. Indeed, Barbur opined, the Chief Justice's selection of the two for the panel demonstrate that Chaudhry may be less of an economic populist inside chambers than out. POLITICAL CONSENSUS FORMING? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Ministry of Finance Joint Secretary responsible for subsidies, Mohammed Sarwar, told Econoff July 24 that he believed the GOP would stick to the latest plan agreed with World Bank and Asian Development Bank (and pending before the IMF) to raise energy tariffs sufficiently to recover costs of production in three tranches: 5-6 percent on October 1; 10-12 percent on January 1, 2010; and 5-6 percent on April 1, 2010. Sarwar reported that at the July 23 session of a ministerial committee formed to address the energy crisis there was a clear consensus among the ministers present that the GOP had no other option but to reduce the energy subsidies and raise consumer tariff rates. Sarwar said that President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani are now "sensitized" to this need. Sarwar agreed with the GOP logic that delaying the initial rate hike until October will be more politically palatable as it would come after the high-demand summer load-shedding season. ISLAMABAD 00001724 002 OF 002 AGAINST A BACKDROP OF SEVERE BLACKOUTS AND UNREST -------------- -------------- ¶5. (U) This latest court activity takes place against a back drop of increasing power outages and a commensurate rise in demonstrations and unrest. In Karachi, severe monsoon rains July 18 brought down power lines, further exacerbating power constraints caused by the complete shutdown of overburdened generation and distribution systems at the Mangla Dam June 27, which took 1100 MW off the grid. Of 1150 feeder stations, some 450 went offline in the storm; five of 58 substations were under water. Essential maintenance at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant cost the grid another 80 MW and two independent power producers, Gul Ahmad and Tapal Energy, have recently stopped supplying KESC with power altogether (240 MW combined) because of non-payment. Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) contacts reported that KESC's own generation is also in trouble: because the facility could not afford adequate supplies of fuel, it is operating at only 50 percent of capacity. As much as half of the city was without power (and water, as electric pumps were also offline) for more than four days while KESC struggled to repair power lines and restore service. Karachi-ites took to the streets July 19, focusing their wrath on KESC and government facilities: media reported that some 21 KESC offices were damaged and police used tear gas to disburse rioters July 20. Even after service began to be restored, protesters continued to block streets and pelt vehicles with stones while chanting slogans against KESC. ¶6. (U) Protests continued the week of July 20 and spread to Lahore, Islamabad/Rawalpindi and other major cities as traders and industrialists joined unhappy mobs in demanding an end to load shedding. In Lahore, transporters also joined the protests, focusing their anger on high fuel prices. Shops were closed and "wheel jam" strikes called in major urban centers; while implementation of the multiple protests varied, traffic was snarled and some workers were unable to report to work for lack of transportation. In Punjab, protesters torched a passenger train in Jhang and offices of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA),and threw stones and burned tires outside government offices and banks. (Ref B). ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The July 23 decision, the timetable for a final ruling, and the composition of the three-court panel bode well for a final Supreme Court decision freeing the GOP's hands to again determine tariff rates - although Chaudhry has not relinquished his jurisdiction and could decide to intervene again at a later date. A member of the GOP delegation to the July IMF review in Istanbul confided to us that the GOP had reached out to Chaudhry behind the scenes and that Chaudhry now better understood the need to address electricity tariffs and deal responsibly with the fuel tax (Ref C). The technocrats in NEPRA and the Ministry of Finance believe the politicians have no choice but to raise tariff rates; the fact that PPP insider and Minister of State for Economy Hina Rabbani Khar led the negotiations for the most recent deal with the IFIs on a schedule for rate hikes could indicate more political buy-in than earlier efforts by Finance Advisor Tarin were able to muster. MinFin tariff expert Sarwar said that the riots of the past few weeks were in response to the failure to deliver power, more than the proposed tariff increase; we agree. But if the GOP cannot bring - and keep - more power online for consumers, tariff increases in the autumn and winter could prove as difficult to implement as they have been this summer. Septels will examine the status of new generation expected online by December 2009 and other efforts to revamp Pakistan's decrepit energy infrastructure, as well as GOP progress tackling the circular debt and other financial issues negatively affecting Pakistan's power sector. FEIERSTEIN