GEPCO sale draws two new bidders

According to Express Tribune, the Privatisation Commission said on Friday that it had drawn Expressions of Interest from 11 prospective investors for Gujranwala Electric Power Company, or Gepco, seeking between 51% and 100% of its shares along with management control. Only two of those bidders are new, one domestic and one foreign consortium, while the other nine were already competing for Faisalabad Electric Supply Company, known as Fesco.

The government's new rule allows a bidder qualified for one distribution company to offer for two others, which gives an impression of a crowded field even though the pool has changed little. Among the newcomers are AKD Securities and Fast Cables, while K-Electric and Hub Power Holdings have also filed documents for Gepco. Those submissions and statements of qualification will be reviewed under prequalification criteria that have already been approved.

The paper also cited a written reply from Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, which put Gepco's distribution and transmission losses at Rs6 billion, or 10%, in 2025-26, compared with Rs85 billion for Pesco. Fesco recorded only Rs1 billion in losses, even though it is the government's top privatisation priority. The deadline for Iesco expressions of interest is September 7, 2026.