The Punjab government has completed initial preparations for establishing the Electric Power Regulatory Authority and has hired consultants to develop its regulatory framework.
The development was shared at a meeting chaired by Provincial Energy Minister Faisal Ayub Khokhar, where officials said the proposed authority has been included in the Annual Development Programme for 2025–26, with a target completion date of June 30, 2026.
Secretary Energy Punjab Dr Farrukh Naveed, Additional Secretary Energy Majid Iqbal, and other senior officials from the energy department attended the meeting.
Briefing participants, Managing Director Punjab Power Development Board Saniya Awais said Punjab, despite being the largest stakeholder in the country’s power sector, remains dependent on the federal regulator, NEPRA. She noted that the province consumes over 78% of electricity supplied through the national grid and accounts for more than 84% of total power recovery.
She added that future federal power planning, particularly the Indicative Generation Capacity Expansion Plan 2024–34, is limiting the scope for new provincial power projects. As a result, Punjab’s indigenous energy resources — including solar, small hydel, waste-to-energy, hydrogen, biomass, and biogas — are largely being pursued through off-grid models.
