Pakistan begins stakeholder consultations on power market reforms

• ISMO holds workshop to open stakeholder dialogue.
• Reform aims to auction 800MW of wheeling demand.
• Leghari stresses CTBCM built on global best practices

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched stakeholder consultations on the long-awaited Competitive Trading Bilateral Contracts Market (CTBCM), The News reported.

CTBCM is a power auction framework aimed at allocating 800 megawatts of wheeling demand and liberalising the electricity sector.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) on Friday, Federal Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said the initiative would reshape electricity trade, enabling industries to purchase power directly from suppliers at competitive prices. 

He emphasised that CTBCM was not an experiment but a carefully designed reform based on international best practices.

“The auction framework is the cornerstone of CTBCM implementation,” Leghari said in a virtual address. “It will not only reduce industrial costs but also strengthen Pakistan’s competitiveness in export markets by ensuring access to clean and cost-effective energy.”

ISMO officials outlined the registration process for market participants, contract obligations, and auction rules designed to ensure transparency and fair competition. 

Stakeholders engaged regulators, power producers and consumer representatives in Q&A sessions and a panel discussion on the challenges of market design, wheeling arrangements and renewable integration.

Leghari declared 2025–26 the “Year of Service to Consumers,” pledging that the government would back ISMO and NEPRA in operationalising CTBCM. Without reform, he warned, inefficiencies would persist and consumers would continue to bear the cost of a stagnant system.

Officials said the consultation marked a turning point in Pakistan’s decades-delayed journey toward a transparent, modern electricity market. 

By creating choice for industrial buyers and opening space for new investment, CTBCM is positioned as a cornerstone reform to stabilise prices and ensure reliable energy for the economy.