ISLAMABAD: During an open public hearing arranged by the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) here on Tuesday, power sector stakeholders highlighted the flaws in the procurement system which were reducing or restricting free competition in the process.

Procurement of equipment worth billions of rupees is made in the power sector but this can be reduced by 30 to 40 per cent only through promoting competition in the purchasing arrangements, they said.

Some participants accused policy makers including government, National Transmission and Distribution Company (NTDC) and multilateral donors such as World Bank and the Asian Development Bank for creating hurdles in the entry of new players into public procurements.

The public hearing witnessed a barrage of accusations by the manufacturers and suppliers of various equipments on the authorities and clarifications by the Ministry of Water and Power.

Meanwhile, Chairperson CCP, Vadiyya Khalil said the Commission was an observer in the public hearing by listening to the views of all stakeholders.

“We would come up with recommendations to promote competition and level playing field in this sector,” she added.

The representative of NTDC maintained that it was their responsibility to keep system stable and to ensure that it operates uninterrupted.

In response to accusations made by certain suppliers regarding favouritism by the Ministry of Water and Power in procurement of certain equipment, the official added that other companies were not willing to give warrantee for few years for tap changers of transformers.

“While no one was ready to give long term guarantees beyond the period of one or two years, the said supplier agreed to the terms and conditions laid down by NTDC,” he added.

Some of the suppliers pointed out that though the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority rules allowed brand name or equivalence in certain conditions but the CCP should take steps to discourage using of brand names into the bidding documents by the procurement agencies.

It was highlighted that the NTDC and DISCOs have placed a mandatory requirement of 5 – 10 years experience to participate in bidding process. However, the participants termed it a barrier for new entrants.

The CCP announced to issue recommendations in this regard to promote competition in public procurement of power equipment.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2015

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