ISLAMABAD, Sept 27: The Privatization Commission (PC) on Friday invited Expression of Interest (EOI) from the reputed international consortia to act as the Financial Advisor for the privatization of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).

The PC expected that the consortia should be led by an Investment Bank well versed with restructuring and privatization of power sector and having the support of leading legal, accounting and technical firms.

According to a PC announcement, Prospective consortia have been asked to send their Expression of Interest latest by October 26 supported by a bank draft/pay order of Rs30,000 (or its equivalent $500) as non-refundable processing fee.

The Government of Pakistan (GOP) is considering the privatization of PESCO which is a fully owned GOP Company formed as a result of the unbundling of the vertically integrated power wing of Pakistan Water and Development Authority (Wapda) into fourteen independent companies i.e. four Thermal Generation Companies (Gencos), one National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) and nine Distribution Companies (Discos) for corporatization, commercialization and subsequent privatization.

The Company was incorporated as a public limited company under Pakistan Companies Ordinance 1984 in September 1998 and started commercial operation independent of Wapda on March 01, 1999. It is one of the nine Discos responsible for supply and distribution of electricity in the North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan excluding the tribal areas.

Divestiture of various power sector generation and distribution assets to allow activities to be undertaken by the private sector; improvement in the efficiency of the Pakistan Power Sector through competition, accountability, managerial autonomy and profit incentives; and the generation of required resources through the divestment process are the objectives of the government for the privatization of power sector. Financial Advisory Consortium (FA) is required to assist the Government of Pakistan in privatizing Pesco and in meeting the above-mentioned objectives of the GOP.

The Financial Advisor’s responsibilities, will include: (a) detailed due diligence and review of operational, accounting, financial, legal, environmental, contractual, regulatory, labour and other institutional aspects of Pesco; (b) feasibility of different transaction structures and advise on the transaction structure for private sector participation; (c) development of appropriate legal and contractual agreements; (c) preparation and implementation of the marketing plan; and (f) preparation of bidding documents, post bid evaluation and close of transaction.

Detailed Terms of Reference (TOR), which include the details of the assets of Pesco to be sold, and the scope of work for FA would be included in the Request for Proposal (RFP) package to be made available to the qualified interested parties.