FAISALABAD: Stakeholders have said Pakistan’s power-market reforms must translate into a commercially viable, reliable and transparent energy system if the country’s export-oriented textile sector is to remain competitive while meeting growing requirements for energy efficiency, renewable-energy integration and industrial decarbonisation.
The views were expressed during a dialogue titled “Threads of Accountability: Traceability and Energy Policy for Textile Competitiveness,” organised by Alternate Development Services (ADS). The event brought together textile manufacturers, power-sector professionals, sustainability and verification specialists, business representatives and renewable-energy stakeholders.
The discussion focused on the practical implications of Pakistan’s changing power market and energy transition for the export-oriented textile industry. Participants examined issues related to competitive electricity procurement, energy security, ESG compliance, traceability and decarbonisation.
Opening the event, ADS Chief Executive Amjad Nazeer introduced the Shared Transition Responsibility Movement (STRM) and stressed the need for manufacturers, brands and financiers to share the financial and technical burden of industrial decarbonisation.
ADS Energy Transition Officer Muhammad Usman Bin Ahmed delivered a keynote address on the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) and industrial competitiveness. He discussed industrial participation through competitive procurement, bilateral contracting and wheeling, along with Use of System Charges (UoSC), security guarantees, balancing and settlement, and firm-capacity requirements for renewable supply.
The dialogue noted that NEPRA’s September 2026 determination places effective UoSC at Rs9.46 per kWh for B-3 consumers and Rs12.32 per kWh for B-4 consumers, including Rs3.23 per kWh in Distribution of Subsidy Surcharge.
Experts also discussed network capacity, metering, transmission constraints and the predictability required for meaningful industrial participation in the changing power market.
Rehan Javed, Head of the Energy Advisory Committee at the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), highlighted rising generation costs, while sustainability experts discussed digital traceability, life-cycle data, verification and credible environmental reporting.
Participants said energy efficiency, process optimisation and waste-heat recovery should form the foundation of industrial decarbonisation. They added that renewable energy, electrification and storage should follow where commercially appropriate.
The dialogue concluded that opening the power market alone would not amount to a successful transition unless reforms provide industry with reliable, transparent and economically viable energy solutions.
