PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has raised serious concerns over the federal government’s proposed Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) framework, terming it detrimental to the province’s hydropower potential and long-term energy plans.
Officials argued that the framework was designed without provincial consultation and warned it could undermine KP’s ability to harness its natural energy resources. To formalize its stance, the provincial government held a consultative session with the support of ISMO, led by Executive Director Umar Haroon Malik. The meeting was attended by representatives of PEDO, FF Steel Peshawar, Bestway Cement Hattar, KP Industries Department, and KP-BOIT.
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Energy, Engineer Tariq Sadozai, noted that while NEPRA had fixed wheeling charges at Rs 2.1/kWh for the 18MW Pehur Power Plant, distribution companies later demanded Rs 28/kWh to prevent customer losses. He cautioned that the new CTBCM framework risked repeating this pattern by introducing multiple charges — cross-subsidies, financial costs, and federal capacity payments — which could render the market uncompetitive.
The CEO of PEDO stressed that KP’s interests must be safeguarded and called for a market design that ensures a level playing field for the province’s hydropower projects.
