Engro Energy Limited (EEL) – in partnership with Nutshell Group, National Electric Power Regularity Authority (NEPRA), Government of Sindh, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI) and Corporate Pakistan Group (CPG) – hosted the Pakistan Energy Symposium: Ushering the Future of Energy on April 1, 2022 that centred on the challenges and opportunities faced by Pakistan’s energy-related sectors.

Ahsan Zafar Syed, CEO, EEL, in his opening address stated that the energy industry “is the backbone of any developed economy and Pakistan is ready to move into a competitive energy ecosystem… transitioning from a single-buyer market to a multi-buyer system can pave the way for an efficient customer-centric energy market and will also stimulate private infrastructure investments, lead to economic growth, give consumers access to reliable and economical power, ease pressure on electricity prices and create conditions for fair allocation of risks.”

Tauseef H. Farooqi, Chairman, NEPRA further touched upon the competitive trading bilateral contract market (CTBCM), the NEPRA-approved model for Pakistan’s wholesale electricity market. He stated, “[Pakistan] has a successful model of the telecom industry and we are trying to replicate that [with CTBCM]… Investors and businessmen are facing challenges which we believe they will be able to overcome with a multi-seller/multi-buyer model. We are trying to deregulate the market.”

Other speakers at the symposium included: Muhammad Azfar Ahsan, Minister of State and Chairman Board of Investment; Khalid Mansoor, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on CPEC Affairs; Waqas Bin Najib, Member Energy, Ministry of Planning Development & Special Initiatives, Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, Provincial Minister of Sindh for Energy, Ghias Khan, President OICCI, Dr Shamshad Akhtar, Chairperson, Pakistan Stock Exchange and Karandaaz; Muhammad Aurangzeb, Chairman Pakistan Business Council, Younus Dagha, Chairman Policy Advisory Board, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry; Shah Jahan Mirza, Managing Director Alternative Energy Development Board; Syed Asad Ali Shah, Member Policy Board SECP.

The symposium ended with an MOU that was signed between EEL and Agha Steel Industries, whereby EEL will provide renewable energy to Agha Steel from its renewable energy park, which is being established at Jhimpir (district Thatta), Sindh. It will be the first of its kind hybrid wind and solar PV park that aims to provide up to 400MW of electricity by early 2024 and 1GW by 2029.

Watch the full recording of the symposium here.

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