Govt Launches Phase-II of Auctioning Outdated Thermal Power Plants

The federal government has initiated the second phase of auctioning outdated thermal power plants installed between 1970 and 1990. The Power Division confirmed that this phase includes the auction of assets from GENCO-I, GENCO-II, GENCO-III, and GENCO-IV plants. The auction process is to streamline the power sector and transition to more efficient systems. In this phase, three power plants with a combined generation capacity of 2,362 megawatts are being offered for sale. These include the 880 MW Jamshoro Thermal Power Station, the 1,350 MW Muzaffargarh Thermal Power Station, and the 132 MW Steam Power Station in Faisalabad. GENCO-I received three bids for one of its lots, with Siddeeq Sons Company emerging as the buyer in all three. The technical bid opening for GENCO-II has been postponed until May 30. Bidding for GENCO-III is expected to begin shortly. According to officials, the plants under GENCO-I have been valued at Rs. 10 billion, while bids submitted during the first phase of the auction exceeded Rs. 9 billion. In the earlier phase, the government successfully sold seven aging thermal power plants. The privatization and auctioning of inefficient plants is seen as a key step in restructuring the power sector and improving overall energy efficiency.