By Muhammad Mudassar ISLAMABAD, Mar. 14 (INP-WealthPK): During the fiscal year 2022-23, the government entities in the power sector have proposed budget allocation of Rs172.2 billion for 101 projects including 87 ongoing and 14 new projects. Out of total 101 proposed projects, one comes under the responsibility of power generation companies (GENCOs), 59 belong to the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), 40 belong to distribution companies (DISCOs), and one project is under the ambit of the Private Power Investment Board (PPIB). On 23 February 2022, the Senate Standing Committee on Power held a hearing to discuss the status of ongoing and proposed development initiatives within the Power Division and its associated organizations. The committee was given a detailed briefing about the schemes proposed in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2022-23. In a proposed budget, three types of investors are involved, i.e., local, foreign, and government. According to the proposed budget, foreign investors will contribute Rs89.52 billion, local investors Rs40.78 billion, and the government will contribute Rs41.87 billion.

Proposed PSDP Budget FY 2022-23 (Rs billion)
Company	Foreign	Local	Gop	Total
GENCO	19	10	0	29
NTDC	66.13	29.78	9.7	105.61
DISCOs	4.36	1	32.17	37.53
PPIB	0.03	0	0	0.03
Total	89.52	40.78	41.87	172.17

  The GENCOs have proposed to invest Rs29 billion for FY 2022-23, of which Rs10 billion will come from local sources, and Rs19 billion from foreign sources. The NTDC has proposed Rs105.61 billion for FY 2022-23, consisting of Rs66.13 billion from foreign sources, Rs29.78 billion from local sources, and Rs9.7 billion from the Government of Pakistan. DISCOs have proposed a budget of Rs37.53 billion for FY 2022-23, comprising Rs4.36 billion from foreign sources, Rs1 billion from local sources, and Rs32.17 billion from the Government of Pakistan. Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) has the highest number of projects (25) among DISCOs having a total of Rs26.364 billion cost, and the proposed budget is Rs16.1 billion for FY 2022-23. New technology is being implemented by the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) in the capital city for power distribution enhancement with a total cost of Rs16.93 billion. The proposed cost for FY 2022-23 is Rs3.33 billion, consisting of Rs1 billion from local investments and Rs2.33 billion from foreign sources. Under this technology, IESCO can monitor electricity theft and any malfunction of the meter. Currently, at the initial stage, 500 meters will be modernized under a pilot project. It could be expanded to other DISCOs that are suffering higher losses if this technology is able to minimize the losses in Islamabad, where losses are approximately 6%.  

DISCOs	No. of Projects	Proposed budget (Rs. Billion)
IESCO	1	3.33
MEPCO	1	1.48
SEPCO	1	4.21
HESCO	1	2.82
QESCO	25	16.1
PESCO	11	9.6
Total	40	37.54

  The PPIB has proposed a project worth Rs0.03 billion funded by foreign investors.