Daily Times

The Federal Cabinet has green-lighted the privatisation of 13 entities under Pakistan’s Power Division, including nine power distribution companies, sources said on Wednesday.

Sources told the media that out of the 11 government-owned power distribution companies, nine have been included in the privatisation list. However, Quetta Electric Supply Company and Tribal Electric Supply Company were excluded from the list.

Furthermore, the cabinet also approved the inclusion of power generation companies (GENCOs) in the privatisation list. The cabinet also granted approval for declaring six Power Division entities as ‘national important entities’, which include Power Holding Limited and Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA).

Moreover, the cabinet has approved the restructuring of four Power Division entities, including Quetta Electric Supply Company and Tribal Electric Supply Company. The restructuring of Islamabad-based entities NTDC and NESPAK has also been approved.

Earlier in May, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that Pakistan will privatise all state-owned enterprises, broadening its initial plans to take only loss-making state firms private.

Chairing a meeting on the privatisation process of loss-making state enterprises, the premier said that the government’s job is not to do business but to ensure a business and investment friendly environment.

Additionally, he directed all federal ministries to take necessary action in this regard and cooperate with the Privatisation Commission, with the meeting being informed that “privatisation of power distribution companies has been included in privatisation programme 2024-2029”. It was informed that loss-making state-owned enterprises to be privatised on priority basis and that a pre-qualified panel of experts is being appointed in Privatisation Commission to speed up privatisation process. Previously, Pakistan had only loss-making state-owned enterprises on its chopping block. Privatisation has long been on the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) list of recommendations for Pakistan.