Pakistan’s Ministry of Energy (Power Division) has entered into a Transaction Advisory Services Agreement (TASA) with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), under which the IFC will serve as transaction advisor for a major smart metering initiative.
According to an official statement, the IFC will carry out a detailed techno-commercial evaluation “for a service-provider model or public-private partnership framework to support the large-scale rollout of smart metering infrastructure for 10 million single-phase connections”.
The project is designed to draw both domestic and international investors to handle the installation, maintenance, and operation of the system.
The ministry also highlighted progress in digitizing Pakistan’s power distribution network. This reform effort focuses on upgrading outdated systems with modern infrastructure to improve transparency, efficiency, and long-term financial sustainability.
“Advanced Smart Metering Infrastructure (AMI) forms the cornerstone of this transformation.
Smart meters provide real-time visibility of energy consumption, reduce theft through anomaly detection, improve billing accuracy and recovery rates, and eliminate manual errors by minimising human intervention.”
Additionally, the ministry noted that an international competitive bidding process has cut the cost of single-phase and three-phase smart meters by 40%, generating significant savings for the government and consumers.
All distribution companies have been instructed to install smart meters for every new electricity connection, eliminating the issuance of traditional meters for new users.
“In addition, all existing three-phase consumer meters must be converted to smart meters by a defined deadline, ensuring that commercial and industrial consumers are fully integrated into the digital system within the specified timeframe.”
