No. Unless your connection has a sanctioned load of 1 megawatt (1,000 kW) or more, you cannot buy electricity from anyone other than your distribution company, whether that is LESCO, IESCO, K-Electric or another. Pakistan's new competitive market is a wholesale market for very large buyers. As of October 2026 there is no retail market for homes or ordinary shops, and no official source gives a date for one.
Who can actually choose their supplier
Only bulk power consumers. NEPRA's own description of the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market (CTBCM) says the aim is to give choice to bulk power consumers with a load of 1 MW or above, letting them buy from the DISCO or from a competitive supplier of their choice.
NEPRA's published FAQ on CTBCM is blunter. It says the market will initially introduce competition in the wholesale market only, allowing large consumers, suppliers, traders and generators to negotiate bulk contracts above 1 MW. The same FAQ defines a separate "retail market" as sales to small end-consumers, and that retail market is not being opened.
In practice that means:
- Households: cannot switch.
- Shops, offices and small businesses: cannot switch.
- Small and medium factories below 1 MW sanctioned load: cannot switch.
- Large industrial or commercial connections of 1 MW or more: eligible to take part.
If you are not sure what your connection is, look at the sanctioned load on your bill. Our annotated sample bill shows where each field sits. A home or shop connection is measured in kilowatts and is nowhere near the 1,000 kW threshold.
Where the "choose your own supplier" idea came from
In October 2025 The Express Tribune ran the headline "Govt to let consumers choose their own power supplier from 2026". Read on its own, that sounds as if every consumer would be able to leave their DISCO.
The report itself said something narrower: from January 2026, consumers using one megawatt or more would be able to buy electricity from any power company they prefer. The headline left out the 1 MW condition, and that is the source of much of the confusion.
What the competitive market is
The market has been building for six years. The firm dates in the record are these:
| Date | Step |
|---|---|
| November 2020 | NEPRA approves the CTBCM model as a roadmap for opening the wholesale market |
| 31 May 2022 | NEPRA directs its licensees to run the market on a trial basis for six months |
| 14 April 2026 | SRO 635(I)/2026 amends the NEPRA Consumer Eligibility Criteria (Electric Power Suppliers) Regulations, 2022 |
| About 7 September 2026 | NEPRA approves grid-use charges for the competitive market |
| 9 October 2026 | NEPRA notifies the use-of-system charges |
The existing ex-WAPDA distribution company keeps a role in this system as the "supplier of last resort". A bulk consumer can keep buying from it, which is what every eligible consumer does today unless they move to a competitive supplier. If you want a refresher on what these companies are and which one serves your area, see what a DISCO is.
The first auction
The buying runs through the Independent System Operator (ISMO), a new Power Division entity. Dawn reported on 10 October 2026 that ISMO is expected to auction 400 MW in the first phase "within the next couple of months". The government has allocated 800 MW in total, to be auctioned in two phases. No official auction date or bid deadline has been confirmed, so treat any specific date you see quoted with caution.
What NEPRA notified on 9 October 2026
When a bulk consumer buys power from a private supplier, the electricity still travels over the national grid and the local distribution network. The use-of-system charges are what that consumer pays for using those wires.
NEPRA notified use-of-system charges of Rs 6.23 to Rs 19.62 per unit for bulk power consumers of all distribution companies, including K-Electric, who take part in the competitive market. These are on top of the supply price, including generation cost, that the bulk consumer agrees with its private supplier.
Bulk consumers who stay out of the auction were set higher transport rates. Dawn reported these as follows:
| Charge | Who it applies to | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Use-of-system charge | Bulk consumers in the competitive auction | Rs 6.23 to Rs 19.62 per unit |
| Transport rate | Bulk consumers not in the auction | Rs 19.17 to Rs 32.56 per unit |
| Transport rate, B-3 | Non-participating B-3 consumers | Rs 19.17 per unit |
| Transport rate, B-4 | Non-participating B-4 consumers | Rs 25.45 per unit |
| Fixed grid charge | Bulk-consumer categories, whether or not they take part | Rs 1 per kW per month of sanctioned load |
B-3 and B-4 are tariff categories printed as codes on a bill; our page on tariff codes explains how to read yours. The SRO number and the effective date of the 9 October notification were not available at the time of writing, so a bulk consumer should confirm both with NEPRA.
NEPRA's stated principle was equal treatment: an open-access consumer should pay the same use-of-system charge as a similarly placed consumer buying from the supplier of last resort, rather than carrying the differences between distribution companies separately.
Buying from more than one supplier
NEPRA's 2022 FAQ described a straight choice between the DISCO and a competitive supplier. That has moved on. Following SRO 635(I)/2026, NEPRA proposed changes to the Consumer Service Manual so that a bulk consumer with a sanctioned load of at least 1 MW could contract fixed percentages of its energy and capacity with the supplier of last resort and one or more competitive suppliers at the same time.
Business Recorder reported this in August 2026 as a proposal. Whether it has been adopted could not be confirmed, so check the current Consumer Service Manual before relying on it.
Does any of this change your household bill?
Not directly. The Rs 6.23 to Rs 19.62 charges, the higher transport rates and the Rs 1 per kW fixed grid charge apply to bulk power consumers in this decision. They are not new lines on a household or shop bill.
Your bill is still worked out the usual way: the NEPRA tariff for your category and slab, plus monthly and quarterly adjustments and taxes. You can see the current domestic rates on our electricity tariff page.
Whether the competitive market will eventually make bills cheaper or dearer for the consumers who stay with their DISCO has not been measured in any official source we could find. Be sceptical of anyone who tells you confidently either way.
It is not the same as privatisation
IESCO, FESCO and GEPCO are being sold, and that is a separate story. A new owner for your distribution company would not give you a choice of supplier. You would still be a customer of whichever company holds the licence for your area. Our post on the IESCO, FESCO and GEPCO sale covers what that change means.
Be wary of "switch your supplier" offers
Because no retail market exists, any offer to move a home or small shop to a "cheaper private supplier", or to "switch you off WAPDA" for a fee, does not match how the market works. We have not seen a specific reported scam of this kind, but the misleading 2025 headline makes it an easy pitch.
If someone approaches you:
- Ask what your sanctioned load is. If it is below 1 MW, the offer cannot be a legitimate competitive-market switch.
- Do not pay a registration or switching fee.
- Do not hand over your bill reference number, CNIC or meter details to an unknown caller or agent.
- Check any claim against NEPRA's own CTBCM page rather than a link sent to you.
If your connection is 1 MW or more
Taking part runs through ISMO's auction and through contracts with competitive suppliers licensed by NEPRA. The application steps, documents and deadlines were not available from an official source at the time of writing, so contact ISMO and NEPRA directly.
Before deciding, compare the use-of-system charge for your category, the supply price a competitive supplier offers and the fixed grid charge against what you pay your DISCO now. Remember that the higher transport rate for non-participants was set out in the same NEPRA decision.
What to do next
- Check the sanctioned load on your bill. Below 1,000 kW, you stay with your distribution company.
- Ignore any offer to switch a home or shop to a private supplier, and never pay a fee for one.
- Check your current bill on the bill checker and compare the charges with the NEPRA tariff for your category.
- If you run a 1 MW-plus connection, ask ISMO for the auction terms and confirm the notification's SRO number and effective date with NEPRA.
Sources
- NEPRA – What is CTBCM?
- NEPRA – FAQs on CTBCM (13 July 2022 per file name)
- Dawn – Nepra clears use-of-system charges for competitive power market (10 October 2026)
- Dawn – Nepra clears key hurdle to competitive power market (about 8 September 2026)
- The Express Tribune – Competitive power market gets nod (about 9 September 2026)
- The Express Tribune – Govt to let consumers choose their own power supplier from 2026 (about 16 October 2025)
- Business Recorder – Amendments to CSM proposed: Nepra acts to enable bulk consumers to procure power (about 26 August 2026)