Distribution companies (DISCOs) are companies under Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) responsible for distribution of electricity in their respective allocated areas. They buy electricity from producers such as Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), GENCOs, PAEC and other private Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and sell it to their respective area customers. All companies are owned by the Government of Pakistan except K-Electric, which was privatized in 2005. [1] Unfortunately, most of the electricity distribution companies in Pakistan are highly inefficient and leads to huge line losses of electricity.
The following are the distribution companies (DISCOs) operating in Pakistan: [2]
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority is responsible for regulating the electricity supply in Pakistan. It is also responsible for issuing licences for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, establishing and enforcing standards to ensure quality and safety of operation and supply of electric power to consumers; approving investment and power acquisition programs of utility companies; and determining tariffs for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. NEPRA was created when the Parliament of Pakistan passed the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act, 1997.
Hyderabad Electric Supply Company is an electric distribution company that supplies electricity to the southern districts of Sindh in Pakistan, excluding Karachi.
K-Electric (KE) is a public listed Company incorporated in Pakistan in 1913 as KESC. Privatised in 2005 KE is the only vertically integrated utility in Pakistan supplying electricity within a 6500 km square territory including Karachi and its adjoining areas. The majority shares (66.4%) of the company are listed in the PSX owned by KES Power, a consortium of investors including Aljomaih Power Limited of Saudi Arabia, National Industries Group (Holding), Kuwait, and the Infrastructure and Growth Capital Fund (IGCF). The Government of Pakistan is also a minority shareholder (24.36%) in the company.
Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) is a Pakistani government-owned electric distribution company. It is based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan.
Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) is a state-owned electric distribution company that supplies electricity to the districts of Faisalabad, Sargodha, Mianwali, Khushab, Jhang, Bhakkar, Toba Tek Singh, and Chiniot in Pakistan. This company generates electric power from water and distributes it to 4.01 million consumers of the area.
Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) (Urdu: مشارکتِ ملتان برائے ترسیلِ برق), formerly known as Multan Power Supply Company, is an electric distribution company which supplies electricity to thirteen districts of South Punjab, Pakistan. This company generates electric power from water (hydro-electric power) and distributes it to approximately thirty-four million people of the area. MEPCO is a licensee who has been granted a license by the NEPRA for the distribution of electricity exclusively to service territory spread over thirteen administrative districts of Southern Punjab.
Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO). , is a state-owned public utility under the administrative control of the Government of Pakistan, formerly a part of the Water & Power Development Authority’s Power Wing and headquartered in Peshawar. PESCO is responsible for the distribution of electricity to over 4.4 million consumers of all civil districts of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) is an electric distribution company which supplies electricity to the city of Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan.
The Power Division, is a part of Ministry of Energy (Pakistan) responsible for electricity generation, transmission, distribution and policy matters pertaining to these three functions.
Electricity in Pakistan is generated, transmitted and distributed by two vertically integrated public sector companies, first one being Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) responsible for the production of hydroelectricity and its supply to the consumers by electricity distribution companies (DISCOS) under the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) being the other integrated company. Currently, there are 12 distribution companies and a National Transmission And Dispatch Company (NTDC) which are all in the public sector except Karachi Electric in the city of Karachi and its surrounding areas. There are around 42 independent power producers (IPPs) that contribute significantly in electricity generation in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority is a government-owned public utility agency maintaining hydropower and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power plants. WAPDA includes Tarbela and Mangla dams among its resources. Its headquartered in Lahore.
The energy policy of Pakistan is formulated and determined by the federal, provincial, and local institutional entities in Pakistan, which address the issues of energy production, distribution, and consumption of energy, such as gas mileage and petroleum standards. Energy policy requires the proper legislation, international treaties, subsidies and incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques.
The Allai Khwar Hydropower Plant is a run-of-the-river, high head project of 687 metres, located in the Battagram District on the Allai Khwar River, a left bank tributary of the Indus River in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is approximately 245 km from the federal capital of Islamabad and 330 km from the provincial capital of Peshawar.
China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a 3,000 km Chinese infrastructure network project in construction in Pakistan. This sea-and-land-based corridor is aimed to secure and reduce the passage for China's energy imports from the Middle East, by avoiding the existing route from the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, which, in case of war could be blockaded, and thus hamper the Chinese energy-dependent economic avenues. Developing a deep water port at Gwadar in the Arabian Sea and a well built road and rail line from this port to Xinjiang region in western China would be a shortcut for boosting the trade between Europe and China. In Pakistan, it aims to overcome an electricity shortfall, infrastructural development and modernize transportation networks. Along with shifting it from an agricultural based economic structure to industrial based.
Jamshoro Thermal Power Station also known by other names such as GENCO-I, and TPS Jamshoro is a gas / furnace oil and coal based thermal power plant with a total installed capacity of 880 MW located in Jamshoro near Hyderabad, Sindh in Pakistan. It is operated by the Jamshoro Power Company. The first phase of the project was commissioned between 1989 and 1991. It consists of one 250 MW unit and three 210 MW units. The power station is undergoing a planned expansion with additional 2 x 660 MW coal fired units. One 660 MW unit has been constructed and is ready for commissioning. Site preparation of second 660 MW unit is in progress with an expected commissioning date of July 2029.
The 1,320 megawatt Pakistan Port Qasim Power Project comprises two 660 megawatt supercritical coal power plants, one of which was inaugurated in December 2016 as part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor. The $2.09 billion project is located on 330.7 acres at Port Qasim, 37 kilometers east of Karachi in Sindh Province. The project is part of a group of 14 energy projects which fall under the fast-tracked "Early Harvest" program of the $46 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor project.
The Sukkur Electric Supply Company (SEPCO) is a public utility company operating in Pakistan, specifically serving the Sukkur region, that falls under the jurisdiction of the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) and operates in compliance with regulations set by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). SEPCO's primary responsibility is the distribution and supply of electricity within its designated area.
The 2021 Pakistan blackout was a power outage that occurred across Pakistan on January 9, 2021.
Hazara Electric Supply Company (HAZECO) is an electric utility company of the Government of Pakistan. It was established on 6 January 2023, by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in response to the needs of the people residing in the Hazara region. HAZECO was formed as a separate Disco with bifurcation of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).
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