The Senate Standing Committee on Power convened a meeting at the Old PIPSHall in Parliament Lodges on Thursday, with Senator Saifullah Abropresiding as the Chair. During the meeting, the Senate Committee commendedthe Power Division for its prompt response to combat line losses andelectricity theft in various DISCOs (Distribution Companies).
Arshad Majid, Additional Secretary of the Power Division, reported thataround Rs. 1 billion in recoveries had been achieved in recent days.Additionally, the Power Division has reorganized the officers withinvarious DISCOs to enhance efficiency.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Saifullah Abro, suggested that thePower Division should also consider reassigning CEOs of DISCOs and membersof the Boards of Directors of various authorities, especially thosesuspected of acting improperly and weakening the power sector’scapabilities. Secretary of the Power Division, Rashid Langrial, hadpreviously mentioned in a tweet that the interim government’s campaignagainst power theft was on track to exceed Rs. 1 billion in recoveries.
However, this amount is relatively small when compared to the transmissionand distribution (T&D) losses, which reportedly exceeded Rs. 520 billion inthe previous fiscal year (FY23). Langrial stated in his tweet that theanti-theft campaign was an ongoing learning process, with plans for afully-developed model by the end of the month. Furthermore, data revealedthat between September 7th and September 14th, the caretaker government hadrecovered Rs. 951 million from individuals involved in power theft.
Read Top Stories
During this period, 490 individuals were arrested, and 4,241 FirstInformation Reports (FIRs) were filed against the culprits. This recoveryamount had grown significantly from the initial Rs. 14 million recorded onSeptember 7th, with expectations of surpassing Rs. 1 billion soon.
