ISMO begins work on new 10-year power generation plan as previous plan awaits approval

The Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) has started preparing a fresh Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan covering 2027 to 2037, according to Business Recorder. The body has asked provinces and other power-sector entities to share project-specific information by September 14, 2026. The data request covers thermal, hydro, renewable and hybrid facilities, both existing and prospective, along with projects built on emerging technologies.

The work is moving ahead even though the earlier IGCEP 2025-35 has not yet been formally notified by Nepra, which had posed a number of questions about it in May. Under that earlier scheme, installed generation was expected to climb 49% to 64,035MW by 2035 from 43,069MW in 2024. Its treatment of some hydropower projects has drawn criticism, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has taken its complaint over omitted hydel schemes to court.

Demand patterns are also changing, as distribution companies report a sharp fall in grid-connected electricity consumption. The National Grid Company attributed this mainly to the economic slowdown and growing net-metering and rooftop solar output. Project delays for major hydropower schemes, including Dasu, Mohmand and Diamer Bhasha, have also reshaped the revised plan, while Nepra's Addendum-II recorded ISMO's agreement to optimise JCM Canada's 269MW hybrid Dhabeji scheme.