LAHORE: The country has unveiled its first Power Equipment Manufacturing Dashboard, a real-time digital tool to monitor localisation progress, assess vendor capacity and identify strategic investment opportunities under the Power Sector Indigenisation Plan (PSIP).
The launch took place during the National Consultative Workshop on the Power Sector Indigenisation Roadmap, organised by the National Grid Company of Pakistan (NGC) — formerly known as the National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) — in collaboration with the LUMS Energy Institute.
Speaking via video link, Energy Minister Awais Leghari said the government was finalising a plan to supply 7,000-megawatt electricity to Pakistan’s export industry at the most competitive tariff in the region. “We are working on providing electricity at a marginal cost to boost exports,” the minister said. He added that power sector indigenisation was vital to shifting the country from an import-dependent to an export-led economy.
The event brought together experts from the power sector, manufacturing industry, regulatory bodies, policymakers and academia to chart a cohesive national strategy for accelerating the localisation of Pakistan’s electrical power equipment manufacturing ecosystem.
Mr Leghari said the NGC was the first national entity to implement an approved Indigenisation Policy, and its strategic procurement model was already delivering tangible results.
He urged the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), power distribution companies (Discos), K-Electric and state-owned and private power generation plants to adopt indigenisation as a strategic imperative — not as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), but as a core procurement principle aligned with the National Electricity Plan 2023-27.
The minister said the government was striving for an export-oriented economy instead of imports, and power sector indigenisation was the need of the hour. The power sector reforms were going on, the Independent System and Market Operator had been fully functional, and the Energy Infrastructure Development and Management Company would also be made functional soon, he said.
The Power Equipment Manufacturing Dashboard — developed by the Lums Energy Institute with input from key stakeholders — was jointly inaugurated by NGC board Chairman Dr Fiaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Pakistan Engineering Council chairman Engr Waseem Nazir, NGC Managing Director Engr Muhammad Waseem Younas, K-Electric CEO Syed Monis Abdullah Alvi, and others.
Commenting on the dashboard, the federal minister said its launch would help indigenise the power sector.
On the occasion, Dr Fiaz stated that the NGC’s indigenisation strategy — anchored in policy reform and targeted educational orders — has already saved over $10 million in foreign exchange through import substitution.
Dr Fiaz, also a senior adviser at the Lums Energy Institute, reaffirmed that Lums would continue supporting policy design, digital innovation and institutional transformation in the energy sector.
He said that under the 10-year Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan and the Transmission System Expansion Plan, investment of $8 billion would be needed in the transmission sector. “We want this equipment and material to be manufactured in Pakistan, which will save valuable foreign exchange,” he said.
Mr Younas outlined the tangible progress under the Indigenisation Policy.
He said that since 2022, the NGC had placed over Rs2bn in local orders, including Rs781m in educational orders aimed at building industrial capacity.
Additionally, NGC’s revision of its Type Test Policy in 2023 to align with international benchmarks has opened the door for local manufacturers to compete globally.
The workshop concluded with consensus on actionable steps to align procurement practices with national localisation goals, foster technology partnerships, and create a clear roadmap for import substitution.
Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2025
