Govt invites bids for first 400MW wheeling auction, says it is exiting power procurement

ISLAMABAD: The government on Sunday announced the first wheeling auction of 400 megawatt electricity under the much delayed Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM), enabling large, mostly industrial, consumers to opt for power suppliers of their choice anywhere in the country instead of relying solely on a single state-owned distribution company supplying to their area. The announcement came from the Independent System and Market Operator (Ismo), a subsidiary of the Power Division. Ismo “hereby announces the publication of Request for Proposals (RFP) for the first wheeling auction and invites all potential auction participants to submit proposals for undertaking transactions under the CTBCM”, it said. The last date for submission of RFPs is November 20, 2026.

Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari termed the development a historic major step towards transforming Pakistan’s power sector from a single-buyer model to a competitive electricity market. Under the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) mechanism, businesses and industrial consumers will be able to purchase electricity directly from power producers on a competitive basis. This is part of the government’s plan to phase out state-led power purchases, under which 800MW of electricity is to be auctioned over the next five years. In the first phase, 400MW of electricity has been offered for competitive procurement. The maximum allocation per auction participant is 160MW, cumulatively across all annual auctions over the five-year period. According to Ismo, the aggregate wheeling quantum is 800MW, which is to be auctioned. Four hundred megawatts have been offered in the first phase of the auction, with a cap of 20pc for each participant. A participant may develop or procure a single…