Power sector indigenization need of the hour: Awais Leghari
LAHORE: Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division), Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari said on Saturday that government is striving for exports-oriented economy instead of imports and power sector indigenization is need of the hour.
He added that power sector reforms are going on, while independent system and market operator has been fully functional and Energy Infrastructure Development and Management Company will also be made functional soon.
He was addressing through a video link the national consultative workshop on 'Power Sector Indigenization Road Map' jointly hosted by National Grid Company (NGC), formerly NTDC, and LUMS (Lahore University of Management Sciences) Energy Institute here at the LUMS campus.
The event brought together senior leadership from the power sector, manufacturing industry, regulatory bodies, policymakers and academia to chart a cohesive national strategy for accelerating the localization of Pakistan's electrical power equipment manufacturing ecosystem.
The Federali Minister commended the joint initiative, stating, 'NGC is the first national entity to implement an approved Indigenization Policy, and its strategic procurement model is already delivering tangible results'.
He urged WAPDA, DISCOs (Distribution Companies), KE (Karachi Electric), and state-owned and private power generation plants to adopt indigenization as a strategic imperative—not as CSR, but as a core procurement principle aligned with the National Electricity Plan 2023–2027.
A key milestone of the workshop was the launch of Pakistan's first Power Equipment Manufacturing Dashboard, developed by the LUMS Energy Institute with input from power sector stakeholders. This real-time digital tool will monitor localization progress, assess vendor capacity, and identify strategic investment opportunities under the Power Sector Indigenization Plan (PSIP). The dashboard was jointly inaugurated by Dr. Fiaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Chairman NGC Board of Directors, and Senior Advisor at the LUMS Energy Institute, Pakistan Engineering Council Chairman Engineer Waseem Nazir, Managing Director NGC Engineer Muhammad Waseem Younas, CEO K-Electric Syed Monis Abdullah Alvi and others.
About the Dashboard, Federal Minister said that the launch of this dashboard is a welcome step and it will help in power sector indigenization.
Dr Fiaz Chaudhry stated, 'NGC's indigenization strategy—anchored in policy reform and targeted educational orders—has already saved over USD 10 million in foreign exchange through import substitution.'
He reaffirmed that LUMS will continue supporting policy design, digital innovation, and institutional transformation in the energy sector. Pakistan's market for static transmission and substations is currently valued at around USD 8 million. This figure, however, does not reflect the true scale of our potential. 'We must work to expand this market at least threefolds through strategic development, innovation, and local industrial growth.
At the same time, we should set a clear target of achieving no less than USD 16 million in exports from this sector. That is the level of ambition we must embrace to position ourselves competitively on the global stage,' he maintained.
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