Transition to competitive power market framework — A case study of Pakistan

Utilities all around the world are opting liberalized and decentralized power markets to bring stability and competitiveness in their power systems [1] [2]. Government of Pakistan also intends to introduce a competitive power market framework by year 2020, the ultimate objective of such a power sector reform program anywhere in the world is to introduce a competitive, sustainable, cutting edge power system and by virtue of it to support sustainable economic growth in country. This study analyzes operational prospects of introduction of such a competitive power market in Pakistan's semi-conventional power grid by conducting short run economic dispatch studies in a realistic model. The results also identify bottlenecks in power system which may hinder the achievable principles of a fair and competitive power market. The study concludes with suggestions for implementation of key reforms to enable introduction of a sustainable and fairly competitive power market framework.