ISLAMABAD, Aug 17 (INP-WealthPk): A major reform is taking place in Pakistan’s electricity sector after a long time in the form of Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) model. The main objective of this model is to increase efficiency by creating competition among the buyers and suppliers in the market and attracting investment, reports WealthPK.

In the first phase, CTBCM is being offered to bulk consumers which have been defined as any company whose requirement is 1MW or more. As such, this comprises 16%-18% of the total requirement of Pakistan.

Talking to WealthPK, Tauseef H. Farooqi, Chairman of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), revealed that they intended to implement a CTBCM model which, like the telecom sector, provided the consumers with options to choose from.

“The CTBCM model’s aim is to move from the multi-seller single-buyer model to multi-seller multi-buyer model. It is important to overcome the challenges being faced by investors and businessmen. We are trying to liberate the market. You can do the buying and selling of your own electricity. We are trying to deregulate the market,” he added.

The current system is based on a single buyer that purchases electricity from the power generation companies. The single buyer supplies power to the consumers through the distribution companies (DISCOs). In CTBCM, there is a wholesale market and the suppliers will be DISCOs, competitive suppliers and traders.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk