If things go smooth, Pakistan may finally have a wholesale electricity market up and running by April 2022, as the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) is reportedly giving final touches to the rules of the game. Only that it should never have taken this long for Pakistan to have a functioning and competitive wholesale electricity market.
The idea has its roots in the National Power Policy of 2013, under which the then Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet had directed the CPPA to prepare a comprehensive plan for the transition of the power market to a Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) in consultation with the stakeholders and subsequently approved by National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), within two years of notification of the Market Rules.
The regulator had issued the Power Market Operators Rules in 2015. And here we are still fine tuning the roadmap and implementation plans for the wholesale electric power market. Even April 2022 seems like an ambitious timeline, given that the CPPA had only floated the tender for hiring of international consultancy firm for design, development, and implementation of CTBCM in March 2021. As per the tender documents, the consultants are required to complete the assignment in 18 months – which could mean the end of 2022 in all likelihood.
While there is no arguing that a transition from the existing single buyer model to a full-fledged competitive electricity market is a tedious task, the bureaucratic hurdles that have come along the journey since the inception of the idea reek of incompetence, criminal negligence, and connivance among various key stakeholders.
The Minister for Planning Asad Umar has lamented the delay in implementation of the plan, adding that an earlier adoption six to seven years ago would have saved trillions of rupees in lieu of circular debt. While the magnitude of the loss is for the honorable Minister to assert and verify, there is no denying that the delay has cost Pakistan’s ailing power sector valuable time and money. Billions have been doled out year after year, in an effort to combat the circular debt menace. Not that the wholesale electricity market would have put a stop to the entire circular debt flow, but it surely would have been a big relief.
The plan, as per reports, was about to enter pilot shadow testing, back in 2017, which was approved by the relevant committee. That it never saw the light of the day is a question that should not go unanswered. While the progress now maybe smoother, the inaction from years ago, must not go unpunished. The bureaucracy is there for policy implementation, which means, inaction is not an option. It is unfortunate that the bureaucracy for the longest time has found refuge in inaction. About time that the message is delivered loud and clear that inaction will lead to consequences.
Comments
Comments are closed.