Fulfilling the international financial institutions’ (IFIs) demand of bringing reforms in the power sector, the board of directors of the defunct Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) approved dissolution of the entity on Monday. An official source said the board meeting, chaired by Water and Power Secretary Imtiaz Kazi, decided to dissolve the company under the companies ordinance. The government has been under immense IFI pressure for the last two years to dissolve PEPCO, which they called a stumbling block in the way of power sector reforms.
The government has already transferred the administrative and financial powers of the company to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), which will be temporarily looking after the work until its functions are transferred to the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA). Former PEPCO managing director Rasul Khan Masud will still be managing the affairs of the NTDC. PEPCO was formed by the government as an administrative body to manage the power distribution and generation companies. The company failed to effectively administer its function that led to financial crisis in the sector. The new setup, CPPA, will act as a clearing house that will allow total financial and administrative authority to DISCOs. The government has notified the board of CPPA but the entity will take months for fully taking over the functions of PEPCO.
