ECC approves Rs4bn grant for international IPP arbitration cases

The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) on Monday approved a Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) of Rs4 billion to cover expenses arising from multiple international arbitration proceedings initiated by independent power producers (IPPs) and major utility shareholders.

The approvals were made during an ECC meeting chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb at the Finance Division, where members also cleared a series of proposals relating to exports, the power sector, petroleum and social security.

In a major boost for exporters, the committee approved three dedicated Export Finance Subsidy Schemes aimed at enhancing export competitiveness. The package includes an expanded EXIM-administered Export Finance Scheme (E-EFS), the launch of a Long Term Export Growth Financing Facility (LTEGFF), and a performance-based rebate on incremental exports.

According to the Finance Division, the initiatives are designed to provide fixed low-cost financing, strengthen support for both exporters and importers, and increase access to financing for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ECC directed that a performance review of the schemes be submitted after six months to assess their effectiveness.

The committee also approved a proposal from the Power Division to transfer pensioners of defunct Generation Companies (GENCOs) to their respective pension-disbursing Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to facilitate the payment of retirement benefits.

In the energy sector, the ECC approved a Petroleum Division summary declaring the Pab reservoir at the Rehman-8 ST-3 well as a Tight Gas Reservoir under the Tight Gas (Exploration & Production) Policy, 2011.

It also endorsed the Petroleum Division's proposal for the tariff applicable to indigenous gas supplied to RLNG-based power plants connected to the SNGPL network during April, May and June 2026.

Separately, the committee approved budget estimates submitted by the Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development for the Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), covering the FY2025-26 budget along with the revised estimates for FY2024-25.