The Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) was established through an act of parliament in February 1958 for integrated and rapid development and maintenance of water and power resources of the country. This includes controlling soil salinity and water logging to rehabilitate the affected land in order to strengthen the predominantly agricultural economy of the country.

As per the charter, amended in March 1959 to transfer the existing electricity departments from the federating units to it, WAPDA has been assigned the duties of investigation, planning and execution of projects and schemes for:
•    Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Power,
•    Irrigation, Water Supply and Drainage,
•    Prevention of Water Logging and Reclamation of Saline Land,
•    Flood Control and
•    Inland Navigation.

Under the later on developments, vis-à-vis the “Energy Policy 1994”, setting up of thermal power generation projects was shifted to the private sector. Similarly, as a result of restructuring of the Power Wing, the utility part was corporatized into independent companies. This shifts from convergence to divergence gave birth to 14 entities to operate in different zones. These are National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC), four Thermal Power Generation Companies (GENCOs) and nine Distribution Companies (DISCOs). The present status of these companies is of corporate public limited entities under the residual Power Wing is therefore now responsible for major hydro-electric power projects and schemes in operation.