ISLAMABAD: Pakistan approved the sale of majority stakes in three of its largest electricity distribution companies (Discos) Friday, offering between 51 percent and full ownership to private buyers in the most sweeping structural overhaul power sector in decades, the government announced.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, chairing a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation, approved the transaction structure for the outright sale of 51 percent to 100 percent of share capital, along with management control. These utilities are Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), the Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) and the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco).
“The initiative is intended to strengthen service delivery, ensure reliable electricity supply, and bring private sector efficiency into the sector,” Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar said.
The decision, requires final Cabinet approval before it takes effect. It would help removing the state management and reduce the circular debt, bring investment. The three utilities serve millions of households and businesses across Punjab and the capital territory. The meeting was attended by the Federal Minister for Power, the Adviser on Privatisation, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Tariq Bajwa, the Secretary of the Cabinet, and senior officials from the Privatisation Commission, the Privatisation Division, the Power Division, as well as the chairmen of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
