Pakistan speeds up power sector reforms, begins discom privatization

Pakistan has accelerated its efforts to reform the power sector by moving ahead with the country’s competitive electricity market and launching the first phase of its electricity distribution companies (Discos) privatization program, Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari said on Friday.

Leghari shared these updates during a meeting with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi. The two leaders discussed ongoing power sector reforms, measures to improve the country’s energy system, and the overall political situation.

The energy minister said the government has already started the privatization process for three electricity distribution companies under the first phase of its broader reform agenda. He added that authorities will gradually include additional distribution companies in the privatization program to improve efficiency, reduce financial losses, and strengthen electricity services.

Highlighting the sector’s recent progress, Leghari said the performance of distribution companies has improved significantly over the past two years. According to him, the government has successfully reduced transmission and distribution losses, lowered financial deficits, and made substantial progress in cutting the country’s circular debt, which has fallen by nearly Rs780 billion.

He also said the government continues to modernize the national power infrastructure. Officials are speeding up the digitalization of the national grid, upgrading the transmission network, and introducing advanced metering systems across the country. As part of this initiative, around 16 million electricity meters will shift to a digital system in phases, allowing power companies to improve monitoring, billing accuracy, and operational efficiency.

Leghari further said the government is introducing transformer-level load management through the Advanced Power Management System (APMS). He noted that the new system will help reduce unnecessary outages and enable electricity providers to deliver a more reliable and uninterrupted power supply to consumers.

Governor Faisal Karim Kundi welcomed the government’s reform agenda and praised its efforts to improve the energy sector. He expressed confidence that the ongoing reforms would strengthen the power system, enhance service delivery, and contribute to Pakistan’s long-term economic stability.