Govt to exit electricity procurement, consumers to buy power directly

Businesses and industries will be able to purchase electricity directly from power plants on a competitive basis. The minister said the government currently purchases electricity under an existing system and supplies it to consumers, adding that questions had long been raised about the terms and conditions governing power procurement.

Leghari said the government would no longer purchase electricity under the previous arrangement, and electricity producers and consumers would be able to trade power directly.

He said the new electricity trading mechanism would be based on transparency and would initially apply to industrial and large consumers., an electricity market will gradually develop under the new system, eventually allowing ordinary consumers to choose where they purchase their electricity.

He said the government would no longer purchase electricity and sell it to consumers at rates determined solely by the government. Leghari said consumers using more than one megawatt would benefit from the system in the first phase.

He added that access to cheaper electricity would help Pakistani industries remain competitive in international markets and support exports.