ISLAMABAD: Chinese company working on Pakistan’s first $1.57-billion high-voltage power transmission line project in the private sector on Wednesday refused to accept the tariff determined by the regulator, officials said.

“National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) had set a tariff of 0.70 cent per unit for the transmission of electricity through the 878km Matiari-Lahore high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line connected to over 4,000-megawatt coal-based power projects in Sindh,” said the official.

However, he said, the tariff fell short of the expectation of the Chinese investor as it was demanding 0.914 cent per unit for a period of 25 years.

Water and Power Secretary Younus Dagha, while updating the Cabinet Committee on Energy in its meeting on August 30 about progress on the transmission line, pointed out that the 0.70-cent per unit tariff determined by Nepra for electricity transmission was unacceptable to the Chinese investor as it was seeking 0.914 cent per unit.

“The company, while objecting to the regulator’s decision, argued that it was required to install towers at different locations, but Nepra did not include their cost in the tariff,” he said.

To accommodate the demand, the Ministry of Water and Power has prepared a review petition against the tariff, which will be sent to Nepra for consideration.

However, the secretary to prime minister was of the view that besides filing the review petition, Pakistan may approach the National Energy Administration of China to persuade it to use its office and ask the Chinese investor to agree on the lower tariff in order to avoid delay in the critical project.

A cooperation agreement for the project, part of priority list of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was signed in April 2015 by the National Transmission and Despatch Company and State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC).