Pakistan’s Power Division has introduced a sector-wide data governance framework to standardise electricity-sector information and improve decision-making.
Pakistan’s Power Division has introduced a sector-wide Data Governance Framework and established the Power Sector Data Governance Council to standardise, validate and share electricity-sector information across institutions serving more than 40 million consumers.
The reform aims to address fragmented databases, reporting systems and digital platforms used by generation companies, distribution companies, transmission entities and regulators. Energy-sector reform practitioner and technology entrepreneur Talha Khalid said the initiative could improve decision-making, but its effectiveness will depend on sustained adoption across the sector.
The Power Division announced the council in June and described it as the first institution of its kind in Pakistan’s public sector. The council includes representatives from key power-sector organisations and was established with the participation of the Pakistan Digital Authority.
The framework follows the DAMA-DMBOK international standard for data management. It sets out common policies, standards, roles and processes for collecting, validating, securing, sharing and using information.
Under the existing system, power-sector institutions maintained separate datasets and used different definitions for similar information. The new framework seeks to establish common definitions and create a verified source of sector data through a planned central repository.
Khalid said inconsistent data can affect monitoring, accountability and policy decisions. When institutions use different definitions or maintain conflicting figures, information becomes difficult to compare and verify.
The issue is particularly relevant to Pakistan’s long-running power-sector challenges, including transmission constraints, distribution inefficiencies, circular debt, generation capacity and electricity costs. Reliable and consistent data is essential for assessing progress in each area.
The framework also comes as the electricity sector adopts technologies such as smart meters, artificial intelligence and automated reporting. Khalid said digitisation alone would not resolve existing problems unless institutions also adopt common standards and responsible data-sharing practices.
The need for coordinated information is expected to grow as renewable energy, distributed generation, battery storage, electric vehicles, demand-side participation and competitive electricity markets expand. More decentralised energy systems can also create larger volumes of information that need to be reconciled across institutions.
The Power Division has linked the reform to investment and said verified sector data could reduce information gaps for investors, including foreign investors. Khalid said improved data governance could also support tariff reforms, market development, industrial competitiveness, climate commitments and broader energy planning.
He further said the data-governance approach associated with the Pakistan Digital Authority could potentially support similar practices across federal and provincial institutions.
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