ISLAMABAD: August 27,2023: Exactly at a time when the caretaker government is not finding any window to give relief to the public from inflated bills delivered to it for July 2023, an official table shows that the power distribution companies (DISCOs) losses in 2021-22 were Rs 520 billion.
It’s highest and unbearable level of theft of electricity in the world. It’s not only a horrible picture of the loss of power distribution companies , but also a major cause of Pakistan’s financial devastation. The details of the losses given in the table indicate that the Peshawar region tops in power theft and its share in total losses of the power sector stands at 37 %. Peshawar region’s power losses cost the national exchequer Rs 153.80 billion in just one year (2021-2022(. Peshawar region is leading in making Pakistan’s economy through power theft for years and there is no any authority in the entire system to stop such a huge power theft in this region.
The Peshawar region is succeeded by Sukkur region in the power losses ,which has 35 % electricity theft . Hyderabad region again in Sindh has 32 % electricity theft and then comes Quetta region which contributes 28 % in electricity losses. The official data shows the Multan region caused Rs 75.10 billion in losses to power sector through theft and line losses for the same period . The Lahore region caused a loss of Rs 72.70 billion through electricity theft in 2021-22.
The official report on losses of units of electricity is enough to see the magnitude of mismanagement , line losses and theft of electricity in Pakistan. The concerned DISCOs hardly go after the power thieves as they are mostly powerful industrialists, traders and landlords . The DISCOs, rather taking actions against power thieves , apply a novel method to make-up losses of electricity by passing on entire losses of the power sector by adding the amount of losses on those consumers who pay their bills honestly. This is a mischievous style of make-up of the losses. Rather , this method is a dacoity and the honest consumers are its victims.
Pakistan is on the verge of financial collapse due to these unbearable losses of the power sector, but unfortunately there is no institution or authority to question the concerned authorities of DISCOs as to why they were not stopping huge losses in the power sector . Instead taking measures to stop or at least bring losses of the power sector to an internationally acceptable level, the concerned officials of DISCOs are using the cheapest method of passing on entire losses to those consumers who regularly pay their bills.
Now with unbearable inflated bills , the honest power consumers are on the roads. They will not bug down unless the government does not stop extorting money from them through inflated bills. Caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar , must ask the policy makers and DISCOs authorities how much they extorted from the power consumers unlawfully through various tactics like inflated bills in just 2021-22.
The caretaker prime minister should first of all order to stop free electricity units to DISCOs employees and other bugs like judges , government employees and elites . Pakistan will not come of the power crisis as long as the current policy of passing on theft of power to honest consumers continues.
