The Senate Standing Committee on Privatisation was informed that Rs250 million had been spent on the divestment process of power distribution companies (Discos) without concluding a single transaction. The government has yet to privatise any state-owned enterprise.
Committee chair Senator Tallal Badar questioned the large expenditure and expressed concern over the perception it would create internationally. He remarked that spending such a sum without achieving results reflects poorly on the process.
During the briefing by the energy ministry on the proposed privatisation of Discos, the chairman specifically inquired about the failed privatisation of the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco). He noted that Fesco’s privatisation had reached its final stages in 2016-17 but remained incomplete.
The ministry’s representative highlighted that employee concerns were a major barrier to the privatisation process.Â
Senator Badar sought further clarification on the labour issues that reportedly stalled the efforts and expressed dismay over the current state of Fesco and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), noting that under the current conditions, no potential buyer would likely be interested in acquiring them.
He called for a review of the board’s performance and demanded identification of the factors that led to the companies’ current condition.Â
The senator also questioned whether the privatisation was meant to address financial decline or labour concerns and emphasized that these issues should have been thoroughly discussed with the committee.
The committee unanimously agreed to hold a joint meeting with the Senate Standing Committee on Power to further examine the details of the companies and the challenges facing their privatisation.
