LAHORE: The name of Pepco (Pakistan Electric Power Company (Private) Limited), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division), has been changed with incorporation as a firm limited by shares in the Security Exchange Commission of Pakistan under the provision of the Companies Act of 2017.

The company, will now onward, work with a new name as the Power Planning and Monitoring Company (PPMC), according to a notification issued by Pepco.

Pepco, for a period of 90 days, shall continue to mention its name along with its new name at every office or place in which its business is carried on and in every document or notice.

Pepco was established in 1998 following a plan for the restructuring of Wapda, envisaging separation of the power sector from Wapda and transfer it to the company to operationalise 10 Discos, three Gencos and the NTDC. It was entrusted through an executive order in October 1998 to facilitate the transition from a centralised control over the power sector supply chain to autonomous and independent entities. Later, it was decided to dissolve Pepco and create a new entity — Central Power Purchase Agency (CPPA) — as its successor. But the CPPA’s functions remained limited to power procurement alone. Thus, Pepco continued working to assist the power division providing support to Discos and allied functions. In the second week of the ongoing month, the government reportedly decided to shift Pepco’s headquarters from Lahore to Islamabad with a new nomenclature and fresh roles.

After the formation of the PPMC, Discos and other companies’ BoDs would have complete powers.

Power Division’s additional secretary was not available for comment.

Published in Dawn, October 29th, 2021