Business Recorder/24-08-2020

ISLAMABAD: Power Division has decided to appoint the ‘officially dissolved’ Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) as managing agent after 17 years to take control of power Distribution Companies (Discos), official sources told. This has been disclosed in a letter written by the Power Division to Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Discos. “Power Division has sent managing agent agreement to Discos to seek approval of their respective boards to appoint Pepco as Managing Agent along with authorization to CEOs to execute the agreement on behalf of the company,” the sources added. Power sector experts are of the view that each Discos’ consumer is already paying commercial agent’s fee to CPPA-G – so can this new managing agent’s role of Discos be delegated to CPPA-G with merely extension of existing PPAAs terms between Disco and CPPAG for efficient controls? “Since CPPA-G is supposed to be restored split in two entities Special Purpose Trader (SPT) and Market Order (MO) by 2021, wherein the latter is responsible for CTBCM implementation and settlements. Given the Discos additional role of Managing Agent to CPPA-G/MO could effectively manage Discos successful turnaround and transition to competitive market across the country. In April 2012, the then government formally dissolved Pepco and the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) and Discos absorbed the company’s 650-670 employees. However, the Ministry has never dissolved Pepco.