• By Best Solar Company PK
  • 16 Oct, 2026
  • Solar Policy
  • 8 min read

For the first time in Pakistan's history, large electricity buyers no longer have to accept whatever their state-owned DISCO charges. On 20 September 2026, the Power Division — through the Independent System and Market Operator (ISMO) — issued the request for proposals for the country's **first 400MW wheeling auction** under the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market, or CTBCM. Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari called it a historic shift from a single-buyer model to a genuine open power market.

If you run a factory, a cold-storage plant, a shopping mall, or any load above **1 megawatt**, the CTBCM open power market changes how you buy electricity — and it sits directly alongside the solar decisions you are already weighing in 2026. This guide breaks down what the competitive market is, the real PKR numbers, and how commercial and industrial solar buyers should respond.

What the CTBCM open power market actually does

Under the old system, every consumer bought power from one seller: their distribution company (LESCO, K-Electric, IESCO, and so on), at a government-notified tariff. CTBCM ends that monopoly for large users. It lets a consumer sign a **bilateral contract** directly with a generator — an IPP, a wind or solar developer, or a trader — and then "wheel" that electricity across the national grid to their facility, paying the grid a transport fee called the **Use-of-System Charge (UoSC)**.

In plain terms: you shop for the cheapest generator, and you simply rent the wires to deliver the power. The grid becomes a toll road, not a gatekeeper.

Key facts verified for the first auction:

  • **400MW** is on offer now, with a total of **800MW** to be auctioned over the next five years under the Wheeling Auction Guidelines.
  • Eligibility is restricted to consumers drawing **more than 1MW**, initially industrial and other large loads.
  • The bid submission deadline is **20 November 2026**.
  • The auction runs in five steps: issuing documents, checking eligibility, evaluating bids, approving results, and awarding the quantum.
  • Ordinary households will be brought in gradually "over the next few years," per the minister.

The PKR numbers: wheeling charges you must model

On 10 October 2026, NEPRA notified the UoSC that makes the market workable. These are the charges that decide whether buying open-market power beats your DISCO bill.

| Consumer category | Wheeling charge (participating) | |---|---| | B-3 industrial | Rs 6.23 per unit | | B-4 industrial | Rs 9.09 per unit | | Full notified range | Rs 6.23 – Rs 19.62 per unit | | Fixed grid charge | Rs 1 per kW/month on sanctioned load |

The critical catch: bulk consumers who **do not** participate in the competitive auction face far steeper charges — roughly **Rs 19.17 to Rs 32.56 per unit** depending on category. In other words, the regime is designed to reward those who engage with the open market and penalise those who sit on the sidelines.

Here is the simple arithmetic every CFO should run. If a solar or wind generator offers you, say, Rs 10–14 per unit under a bilateral contract, and you add a B-3 wheeling charge of Rs 6.23, your delivered cost lands near Rs 16–20 per unit. Compare that to the all-in industrial grid tariff many factories pay today, and the gap can be meaningful — especially against the non-participant penalty rates above.

Why this matters specifically for solar buyers

The CTBCM open power market and your solar plan are two halves of the same decision. Three reasons:

1. **It opens a path around the net-billing squeeze.** In 2026 NEPRA replaced net metering with the Prosumer Regulations 2026, cutting the export buyback rate for new solar consumers to just **Rs 8.13 per unit** — down from the old Rs 25.32 — and shortening contracts from seven years to five. Rooftop export economics got harder. Wheeling gives large users a second lever: instead of only self-consuming and exporting cheaply, you can contract for off-site solar at scale and move it to your site. 2. **It unlocks off-site and open-access solar.** You may not have roof space for a 2MW array, but under CTBCM you can buy from a dedicated solar park elsewhere in Punjab or Sindh and wheel it in. That decouples your clean-energy ambition from your building's footprint. 3. **It de-risks captive solar investment.** A hybrid strategy — on-site rooftop solar for daytime base load, plus a wheeled solar contract for the rest — can hedge both tariff hikes and the weak export rate.

If you are still sizing a rooftop system, our guide to commercial and industrial solar in Pakistan pairs naturally with a wheeling strategy, and the shift from net metering to net billing explains why off-site procurement suddenly looks attractive.

A practical checklist before you bid

Based on how the first auction is structured, large buyers should move deliberately:

  • **Confirm eligibility.** Verify your sanctioned load genuinely exceeds 1MW and that your category (B-3, B-4, or K-Electric equivalent) matches the notified UoSC.
  • **Model the delivered cost.** Generator price + wheeling charge + Rs 1/kW fixed charge versus your current and projected DISCO tariff. Stress-test it against the non-participant penalty.
  • **Line up a generator.** Identify solar or wind suppliers with spare capacity and a credible track record before the **20 November 2026** deadline.
  • **Read the contract term risk.** Bilateral contracts carry their own tenor and take-or-pay conditions — get them reviewed.
  • **Plan the metering and compliance.** Wheeling requires proper interface metering and ISMO registration.

Frequently Asked Questions

**What is the CTBCM open power market in Pakistan?** CTBCM — the Competitive Trading Bilateral Contract Market — is Pakistan's new framework that lets large electricity consumers buy power directly from a generator of their choice and transport it over the national grid, instead of buying only from their DISCO. The first 400MW wheeling auction opened in September 2026.

**Who can participate in the 400MW wheeling auction?** Initially, only consumers with a load above 1 megawatt — mostly industrial and large commercial users. The government says ordinary consumers will be included in later phases over the next few years. Bids for the first auction are due by 20 November 2026.

**How much are the wheeling charges?** NEPRA notified Use-of-System Charges of Rs 6.23 per unit for B-3 and Rs 9.09 per unit for B-4 participating industrial consumers, within an overall band of Rs 6.23 to Rs 19.62 per unit, plus a fixed Rs 1 per kW/month on sanctioned load. Non-participating bulk consumers face much higher charges of roughly Rs 19.17 to Rs 32.56 per unit.

**Does CTBCM replace rooftop solar or net billing?** No — it complements them. With the net-billing buyback rate now just Rs 8.13 per unit for new prosumers, wheeling lets large buyers contract for off-site solar at scale while still running on-site panels for daytime load. The two strategies work best together.

The bottom line

Pakistan's open power market is the biggest structural change to electricity buying in a generation, and the window is open now. For any business above 1MW, the message is clear: engage with the competitive market or risk paying the non-participant premium. Solar — on your roof and wheeled from elsewhere — is how you turn that choice into durable savings.

Want help modelling your delivered cost or sizing a hybrid solar-plus-wheeling strategy? Talk to our commercial solar team and we'll run the PKR numbers for your load.

**Sources:** Business Recorder — Govt launches 400MW auction · Dawn — Govt invites bids · ProPakistani — NEPRA sets wheeling charges · Profit by Pakistan Today — Net metering to net billing

Best Solar Company PK designs and installs reliable solar systems in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, Multan, Taunsa Sharif and Karachi. Contact us for a free survey and the best advice for your home or business.