PAKISTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Nadir Altaf and Muhammad Fahim Khan, RIAA Barker Gillette
Ownership of Licensees Generation companies
purchase electricity on behalf of XW-DISCOS from IPPs. Since CPPAG performs the function of purchasing power, it could not act as a neu- tral market operator. Consequently, ISMO was established, and the market operator licence was transferred to it, while CPPAG retains its role as the power purchaser. CPPAG has applied for registration as a Special Purpose Agent under section 25A of the NEPRA Act, which is current- ly being processed by NEPRA. There is some uncertainty regarding this registration and the surrounding legal framework. 1.2 Principal State-Owned or Investor- Owned Entities Generation Entities State-owned The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), a statutory body, owns and operates a number of electric power projects for the government – the majority of which are hydropower-based. WAPDA also continues to develop further hydropower projects, including the Diamer Basha hydropower project and the Keyal Khwar hydropower project. Previously, WAPDA was the sole electric power utility of Pakistan. In the 1990s and 2000s, WAP- DA was restructured to spin off: • its thermal power projects into four genera- tion companies (including the Central Power Generation Company Limited (CPGCL) and the Northern Power Generation Company Limited (NPGCL)); • its transmission business to the NTDC; and • its distribution business into nine distribution companies (DISCOs). Recently, the government has set up four large re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG)-based power generation projects through three govern-
There are both state-owned and privately owned generation companies operating in Pakistan. Owing to recent government policies, the num- ber of grid-based independent power produc- ers (IPPs) has grown greatly during the past two decades. In the local market, the term “IPP” refers almost exclusively to privately owned generation com- panies developed pursuant to a government- issued power policy that sell their power exclu- sively to the government’s purchasing entity (ie, CPPAG). Transmission companies The primary transmission licensee is the state- owned NTDC, which owns and manages the national grid. The provinces of Pakistan have recently begun to set up their own transmission companies (see 1.2 Principal State-Owned or Investor-Owned Entities (Transmission Enti- ties)). There are also a few privately owned transmis- sion companies holding special purpose licenc- es – for example, Fatima Transmission Company Limited and Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Company (Private) Limited. Distribution and supply companies Distribution companies are predominantly owned by the government. Exceptions include K-Electric Limited (a century-old public utility company that was privatised in 2005) and a few companies that were set up as private distribu- tion businesses. The government plans to priva- tise state-owned distribution companies. * The role of and licence for market operator have been transferred to ISMO. CPPAG continues to
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