International Power Market Expert - REMIT Programme

Background

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is establishing a dedicated Strategic Implementation Unit (SIU) to enhance integrated strategy, policy, and delivery support to the Prime Minister and senior leadership. The SIU is modelled on international best practices, where such units have proven effective in providing evidence-based insights, rapid analytics, and focused implementation tracking at the highest levels of government.

The SIU will function as a rapid-response analytic task force for the Prime Minister and the PMO, providing decision-ready inputs on priority economic sectors and policy questions. It will carry out rigorous analysis to stress-test proposals submitted by line ministries, SOEs, regulators, and development partners, and will support sectoral oversight across Pakistan’s key economic priorities, including energy and power, petroleum, agriculture, commerce, finance, and other areas identified by the Prime Minister.

Technical experts and Analytics Specialists embedded within the SIU will work under the direction of the Head-SIU to analyse critical issues across economic sectors, develop evidence-based assessments, collect inputs from relevant government agencies, and prepare comparative analyses in situations involving conflicting stakeholder positions. They will assist in the examination of policy and implementation options, including the assessment of respective advantages and disadvantages, with clear articulation of economic implications, implementation risks, and other relevant considerations.

Activity Context

Pakistan’s power sector reform agenda is complex, fiscally consequential, and requires grounding in international experience. Key structural challenges, including circular debt, excess generation capacity, distribution inefficiencies, tariff distortions, and weak regulatory governance, are not unique to Pakistan; comparable economies have navigated similar trajectories with varying degrees of success. The PMO, through the SIU, requires access to international expertise to detail analyse Pakistan’s power sector challenges, benchmark reform options against global best practices, and assess whether proposals from domestic actors reflect the most effective and proven approaches.

The SIU’s domestic power sector experts provide strong analytical and reform advisory capacity on Pakistan-specific dynamics. The International Power Market Expert will complement this by bringing an independent, globally-informed perspective, identifying what has worked in comparable markets, where Pakistan’s reform trajectory diverges from international experience, and what risks or opportunities domestic analyses may be missing.

Key areas where international expertise is required include:

• Comparative assessment of power market reforms and restructuring models from comparable economies

• Application of international benchmarking of tariff design, capacity payment mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks

• Global experience in circular debt resolution and financially distressed power sector turnarounds

• International best practices in DISCO and GENCO governance, privatisation, and performance management

• Cross-country experience in renewable energy integration, transition financing, and energy mix optimisation

• Independent assessment of proposals from development partners and multilateral institutions against global evidence

The International Power Market Expert will provide the SIU with the globally-informed perspective needed to stress-test domestic reform proposals, challenge assumptions grounded only in local practice, and ensure that Pakistan’s power sector decisions reflect the best available international evidence.

Job Summary

The International Power Market Expert will provide high-level, internationally-grounded technical advisory support to the SIU on power sector market structure, governance reform, and regulatory frameworks. Drawing on deep experience across multiple international power markets, the role will benchmark Pakistan’s reform options against global best practices, stress-test proposals from domestic and international actors, and provide the SIU with an independent, evidence-based international perspective on power sector decisions.

Duties and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

International Benchmarking and Comparative Analysis

• Conduct rigorous comparative analysis of power market structures, reform pathways, and regulatory frameworks across international markets relevant to Pakistan’s context.

• Provide technical inputs into reform actions for Pakistan’s power sector governance, tariff frameworks, capacity payment structures, and circular debt dynamics against comparable international experiences.

• Identify reform models and sequencing approaches from international markets that are most applicable to Pakistan’s institutional, fiscal, and political economy context.

• Assess the track record of privatisation, unbundling, and market liberalisation initiatives in comparable economies, drawing out lessons for Pakistan.

• Provide comparative analysis of renewable energy integration strategies and energy transition financing models from international markets.

Stress-Testing and Independent Advisory

• Independently stress-test power sector reform proposals submitted to the SIU by line ministries, NEPRA, SOEs, and development partners, drawing on international evidence to assess whether proposed approaches reflect global best practice.

• Critically assess proposals and positions advanced by multilateral institutions and development partners against the broader international evidence base, providing the PMO with an independent analytical counterweight.

• Identify gaps, risks, and untested assumptions in domestic reform proposals from an international perspective, with clear articulation of implications for Pakistan’s power sector trajectory.

• Advise on the design of power market reforms, including market liberalisation, competitive dispatch, private participation frameworks, and regulatory independence,drawing on international models.

• Provide internationally-grounded inputs on tariff reform design, including cost-reflective tariff structures, cross-subsidy rationalisation, and consumer protection mechanisms used in other markets.

Qualifications and Experience

• Advanced degree in electrical engineering, energy economics, economics, public policy, finance, or a related field.

• Minimum 15 years of relevant experience in international power market advisory, energy sector reform, or regulatory governance across multiple countries or regions.

• Demonstrated track record of advisory work across at least three distinct international power market contexts, including experience in at least one developing or emerging economy comparable to Pakistan.

• Expertise in power market liberalisation and restructuring, tariff reform and regulatory frameworks, circular debt or distressed power sector resolution, renewable energy integration, capacity market design.

• Demonstrated ability to contextualise international experience for specific country contexts, avoiding direct transplantation of models without adaptation.

• Strong analytical, advisory, and written communication skills; ability to produce authoritative, decision-ready outputs under tight timelines.

• Familiarity with Pakistan’s power sector context is an advantage but not required; intellectual curiosity and ability to rapidly internalise country-specific dynamics is essential.

Reporting

The consultant will report to:

• Head, Strategic Implementation Unit (SIU), Prime Minister’s Office

Duration and Expected Level of Effort

• Days: 5 days

• Months: Over 5 months

• Total Expected LOE: 25

Application Deadline: Thursday 28th May