GEPCO privatisation: 9 bidders prequalified, three Turkish firms, K-Electric pulls out

GEPCO privatisation has moved to its next stage: the Privatisation Commission Board, at its 259th meeting in Islamabad on 5 October 2026, prequalified 9 bidders for Gujranwala Electric Power Company, out of 11 that sent expressions of interest for 51% to 100% of the shares with management control, according to the Commission's own release.

For GEPCO's customers in Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat and the surrounding districts, nothing changes on the next bill: the per-unit tariff is set by NEPRA, not by the owner of the company, and the sale still has due diligence and bidding ahead of it. What a new owner would control is the part customers feel day to day: line losses, load-shedding on high-loss feeders, meter reading and how fast complaints are fixed.

The 9 prequalified bidders for GEPCO

The Board approved these interested parties:

1. Aktor Elektrik Enerji Yatirimlari San. ve Tic. A.S. (Turkey)
2. Genvera Enerji A.S. (Turkey)
3. Cengiz Enerji Sanayii ve Ticaret A.S. (Turkey)
4. Engro Energy Limited
5. Sapphire Fibers Limited
6. Hub Power Holdings consortium
7. Shirazi Investments (Pvt.) Limited consortium
8. Artistic Milliners (Pvt.) Limited consortium
9. AKD Securities consortium

ProPakistani reported that the Hub Power consortium includes Lucky Cement and Kohat Cement.

Two of the 11 dropped out. K-Electric, the only privately run distribution company in the country, withdrew its expression of interest in writing, and Al Sharif Contracting & Commercial Development Co. could not provide the documents the Request for Statement of Qualification required.

What happens next

The 9 parties now get access to a virtual data room for buy-side due diligence, the detailed look at GEPCO's accounts, network and liabilities that comes before financial bids. The Commission has not given a date for bids. GEPCO is part of the first batch of distribution companies offered for sale, alongside FESCO (Faisalabad) and IESCO (Islamabad and Rawalpindi), under the Commission's expression of interest for Batch-I DISCOs.

At the same meeting the Board reconstituted the negotiation committee for outsourcing Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad airports, and told advisers to speed up the sale of House Building Finance Company and Zarai Taraqiati Bank.

What GEPCO customers can do now

• Check your bill is right. Use our GEPCO bill check guide to download the duplicate bill with your 14-digit reference number.
• Work out what your units should cost. Run them through the electricity bill calculator; the same NEPRA slabs apply whoever owns the company.
• Know your usage. The electricity units calculator shows which appliances push you over a slab.

Until a buyer is chosen and the sale closes, GEPCO stays a government company, and complaints, new connections and bill corrections go through its offices and helpline as before.