This is apropos two back-to-back letters to the Editor titled ‘Provincial concerns on electricity market liberalisation’ carried by the newspaper on Thursday and yesterday. Now it is increasingly clear that the Power Division has a responsibility to explain its position clearly.
The objective of market liberalisation is not in dispute; all three provinces have indicated conditional support for open access in principle.
The question is whether the proposed framework achieves this without eroding constitutional autonomy, discouraging competition or imposing inequitable costs. Failure to address these points risks weakening the reform before it even begins.
Any sustainable move towards open access must be based on transparent cost structures, fair allocation of capacity, and mechanisms that reflect both market realities and constitutional constraints.
Provincial participation in framework design is not an administrative courtesy; it is a constitutional necessity that also serves the practical purpose of building consensus and ensuring smoother implementation. Without it, reforms of this scale will face resistance at every stage, delaying benefits for the consumers and industries they are meant to serve.
Nasir Khattak (Peshawar)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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