Power Sector reforms underway, privatization of three DISCOs begins: Awais Leghari

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari has said that the government is rapidly implementing reforms in the power sector to ensure better, transparent and uninterrupted electricity supply for consumers across the country.

Speaking during a meeting with Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi, the minister said Pakistan is making progress towards establishing a competitive electricity market, while the privatization process of three power distribution companies (DISCOs) has been initiated in the first phase of the government’s privatization programme.

Awais Leghari informed that the performance of power distribution companies has been very good for the last two years, and due to this, there has been a remarkable decrease in line losses, deficits, and circular debt.

He added that the government was able to cut down the circular debt by about Rs780 billion and that the positive results of the reform process were now evident.

The minister further said that the process of digitizing the national grid, upgrading the transmission system, and installing the Advanced Metering Infrastructure has been going on at a fast pace.

According to him, 16 million meters have been installed in the country for electricity purposes in stages.

Leghari further emphasized the need for using a new load management system at the transformer level through the Advanced Power Management System (APMS).

During the meeting, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Faisal Karim Kundi appreciated the government’s efforts to reform the energy sector and modernize the power supply system, describing the initiatives as important steps towards improving electricity services and strengthening the country’s energy infrastructure.