To combat corruption, the federal government has chosen to assign agents from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other intelligence organizations to the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs).
The Power Division has been instructed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to permanently assign a deputy director-level officer from the FIA to the electric supply businesses.
As the authorities get ready to remove the directors nominated for political reasons from the enterprises, the FIA official will prepare cases against the corrupt officers.
At the headquarters level, the additional director general will oversee and coordinate.
The decision was made more than a month after Prime Minister Shehbaz emphasized that the nation could not afford widespread power theft given the unstable and terrible economic conditions. He also emphasized the need to develop a plan right away for upgrading transmission lines and reducing line losses in a sustainable manner.
This was what he had replied when he was informed about the widespread nationwide electricity theft that rendered the entire power industry unsustainable and unviable.
The premier was informed that the Power Division’s anti-electricity theft campaign, which commenced in September 2023, resulted in a net savings of Rs57 billion. In the current billing, the authorities had also retrieved forty billion rupees.
During the premier’s briefing, a senior Energy Ministry official stated that 45,777 dishonest individuals in Punjab had been detained for electricity theft, 1,250 in Sindh, 5,121 in KP, and 181 in Balochistan.
Three hundred and fifty officials from different distribution companies (Discos) had been suspended during the anti-power theft campaign.
To ensure that the power sector could be made sustainable, the PM had requested the IGs and chief secretaries of all the provinces to assist Discos in their fight against electricity theft.
The prime minister had emphasized at the briefing the need for a long-term, sustainable system that would monitor power thieves in addition to helping to recover the stolen energy. What’s more, technology needs to be incorporated into the system to help eliminate power theft.
The premier has ordered that DISCOS employees who assist individuals who are stealing electricity be held accountable and that the necessary actions be taken against them right away.
