Islamabad: Govt to crackdown on electricity theft and bill-skipping.
According to Pakistan’s Power Minister, ten distribution corporations suffer a combined annual loss of Rs. 589 billion. He claimed that the main causes of this enormous loss are the theft of electricity and unpaid electricity bills.
At a press conference, the acting ministers for power and energy and information and broadcasting, Murtaza Solangi and Muhammad Ali, stated that the prime minister’s orders had not been followed.
He claimed that higher bills are paid by others as a result of electricity theft and bill defaulters. Electricity rates won’t decrease, he claimed, unless this behavior is discontinued.
According to the minister, the overall loss in the distribution firms in Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, and Islamabad. Where recovery is comparatively better is estimated at 3%. This translates to 79 billion units, or a loss of $100 billion in rupees.
The minister reported losses of up to 60% at the discos in Peshawar, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Quetta, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The minister stated that a thorough three-pronged strategy has been devised by the government to address the issue of power theft. According to him, technical interventions would be undertaken in the regions where line losses range from 15% to 30%.
Where power theft is between 30 and 60 percent. The private sector will be involved in management, and enforcement will be ensured. Where power theft is greater than 60 percent.
The energy sector needs reforms badly, according to the minister. He said that management will change as a result of the government’s examination of the performance of the boards of directors of electricity distribution firms.
