Mian Zahid demands paying capacity charges from federal budget

Business Recorder reported that Mian Zahid Hussain, president of the Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, has asked the federal government to pay the capacity charges on surplus electricity from the budget rather than through power bills. He put the amount at about Rs1,700 billion for 2025-2026, arguing that this would let industries get power at affordable rates. He also urged the immediate privatisation of the DISCOs, which he described as inefficient.

Hussain described the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM), approved by NEPRA, as a framework that would end the single-buyer system run by CPPA-G. Under it, bulk users at or above 1 megawatt could source power directly from generators through bilateral deals rather than their local distribution company. An initial 800 megawatts from the transmission network has been set aside for auction. Buyers would pay wheeling charges, known as Use of System Charges, to use the existing grid, and the market would operate under the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO).

Hussain also raised objections to NEPRA's recent approvals on wheeling and stranded costs. Base charges run from Rs6.23 to Rs9.09 per unit, but an added stranded cost of as much as Rs16.35 per unit on industries outside the auction could lift totals beyond Rs25 per unit in certain categories. He therefore called for these charges to be rationalised.