Stakeholders deliberate on a phased transition to clean electricity by 2040

LAHORE: Pakistan’s leading power-sector stakeholders gathered at the Lahore University of Management Sciences on Thursday to discuss converting the country’s thermal power plants into grid-support assets as part of a phased transition to clean electricity by 2040, with officials calling for a technology-neutral framework to govern the shift. The National Consultative Workshop on Renewable Energy Transition, convened by the LUMS Energy Institute, built on the institute’s earlier report, “The Net Zero Transition: A Pathway to Clean and Sustainable Electricity by 2040, ” and brought together representatives of the Ministry of Energy, the National Grid Company, the Independent System Market Operator, the Water and Power Development Authority, several power generation companies, the Power Planning and Monitoring Company, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, the Special Investment Facilitation Council, the Central Power Purchasing Agency, state-owned and private thermal plants, equipment manufacturers, academics and industry bodies. Discussions centred on the possibility of converting suitable thermal generators into synchronous condensers, where technically feasible and economically viable, to provide services such as reactive power support, system inertia and short-circuit strength as the country reduces its reliance on fossil-fuel generation. Participants said such conversions could allow existing assets and grid connections to be repurposed rather than retired, though they stressed that each project would need to be weighed against alternative solutions on cost, performance, location and delivery time. Thermal plant operators and equipment manufacturers voiced strong interest in pursuing conversion opportunities, though plant representatives said they needed clarity on costs, remaining equipment life, contractual obligations and future revenues, while manufacturers said the technical and economic viability of each conversion would have to be established individually. The workshop also produced five broad implementation priorities: aligning renewable generation with transmission development, expanding energy storage and demand-side measures, strengthening grid flexibility, securing essential grid-support services, and assigning clear institutional responsibilities through a phased action plan. Syed Faizan Ali Shah, Advisor to the Minister of Energy, said any new framework should be technology neutral and give equal opportunity to all technologies to provide ancillary services, adding that new and advanced technologies should also be allowed to participate. Altaf Hussain Malik, Managing Director of the National Grid Company, said clarity was needed on tariffs, licensing, performance and interconnection standards, and on how services would be valued, before investment decisions could be made, while also calling for an assessment of life-cycle costs and locational benefits against the system’s requirements. Abid Latif Lodhi, Managing Director of the Power Planning and Monitoring Company, called for ancillary services to be unbundled from energy procurement and opened to technology-neutral competition, saying the system’s requirements would first need to be established, followed by plant-level feasibility studies and clear regulatory and commercial arrangements for procurement and compensation. Omer Haroon Malik, Executive Director of the Independent System Market Operator, said work was already under way on a comprehensive ancillary services framework as part of broader power-market reforms, with services to be procured through a competitive, technology-neutral process regardless of whether the solution was a synchronous condenser, a generator or another qualifying technology. Muhammad Arfan Miana, Member (Power) at the Water and Power Development Authority, urged caution on consumer affordability, saying compensation mechanisms should be based on availability and performance rather than a return to earlier capacity-based models. Participants said that, for consumers, better integration of renewable energy and grid-support services could improve the reliability of the electricity system and reduce dependence on imported fuels, though any savings would depend on individual project viability and cost-recovery arrangements. LUMS said it would consolidate the workshop’s recommendations to inform implementation priorities and institutional responsibilities, with a final report — including the results of an ongoing synchronous condenser pre-feasibility assessment — expected before the end of 2026. Dr Fiaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Senior Advisor at the LUMS Energy Institute and Chairman of the National Grid Company’s Board of Directors, said the consultation had turned the findings of LUMS’ net-zero report into concrete implementation priorities with clear actions and responsibilities. Closing the workshop, LUMS Provost Dr Tariq Jadoon thanked participants and said the university would continue working with government and industry to translate research into policy and practical solutions for affordable, reliable and cleaner electricity. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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