ISLAMABAD: Parliamentarians and energy experts at a seminar here on Wednesday identified electricity distribution companies (Discos) as a major contributor to the ongoing energy crisis and the country’s economic challenges.

They also unanimously recommended that the Discos need immediate but well thought-out reformation and restructuring otherwise they will continue to add to both the energy crisis and circular debt.

The seminar, titled ‘Privatisation-the only solution for electricity distribution companies,’ was organised by Parliamentary Forum on Energy and Economy, a newly created cross-party group of the members of the National Assembly.

Speaking on the occasion, Speaker National Assembly Ayaz Sadiq emphasised the need for non-partisan and deep deliberations on the issues and problems concerning Discos.

Although, he said, the government should take itself out of running any business, including Discos. He also highlighted the need for an informed parliamentary and policy debate so that any negative fallouts of privatisation could be both predicted and prevented.

“We need the right person for the right job whether it is in the government or in the private sector otherwise our situation will become worse before it can get better,” he said.

Syed Naveed Qamar, senior parliamentarian and former minister of privatisation, also told the audience that it is the management of a company that matters, not its ownership.

“Even in Discos, you see that some of them are running efficiently. For instance, Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) is doing very well so there is no need to privatise it”, he said.

He also advocated for a diversified approach to address the problems plaguing Discos. “While most of these problems can be removed by improving their management, we need to keep in mind the peculiar situation of each Disco to decide how to reform or restructure it”, he added. He further emphasised that the regulator must live up to its role and not just act as a power tariff setter.

Earlier, Dr Nafisa Shah, senior parliamentarian and the convener of the Parliamentary Forum on Energy and Economy introduced it to the audience. She said that energy crisis has become so severe that it is now threatening the entire national economy. “We therefore need to debate and address it in a non- partisan manner and that explains why we have set up this forum,” she said.

The seminar included presentations by energy experts Shaheera Tahir, Rimsha Rehan, and Manzoor Alizai on the need for reforming and restructuring Discos and analysed and critiqued various options being considered for the purpose. They highlighted the pros and cons of public-private partnerships, management concessions and provincialisation as an alternative to the privatisation of Discos.

Tahir Basharat-Cheema, former head of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) also shed light on the costs and benefits of privatising Discos.

He summed up this speech by advocating that allowing private sector to take over the management of these companies rather than privatising them can lead to improvement in their performance.

Summing up the proceedings of the seminar, Dr Amjad Ali Khan, a parliamentarian from Swat, said that the provincial governments should be engaged in debates and discussions about Discos and they should have the authority to decide what they want to do with Discos in their respective jurisdiction.

“Once the Discos are given in the provincial jurisdiction, the provincial authorities should either improve their management or develop public-private partnerships to enable investments in Discos,” he concluded.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2024