PM Chairs Review Meeting On Stoppage Of Electricity Theft

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday chaired a high level meeting on stoppage of electricity theft and directed the concerned to take immediate disciplinary action against the officers besides awarding exemplary punishment for abetting the crime causing loss of billions of dollars

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Mar, 2024) Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Thursday chaired a high level meeting on stoppage of electricity theft and directed the concerned to take immediate disciplinary action against the officers besides awarding exemplary punishment for abetting the crime causing loss of billions of Dollars.

He said, it was their responsibility to create a stable system by taking measures like launching a campaign to stop electricity theft. The present situation of the economy could not bear the problem of electricity theft, he added.

He said a strategy should be formulated at the earliest for decreasing line losses and for upgradation

of transmission lines. He said that generation companies were a burden on the national exchequer and work should

be started on their privatization at the earliest. A report on complete plan for solarization of tubewells in Balochistan should be presented, he added.

During the meeting, it was decided to install smart meters on transformers under the public sector development

programme. Feeder monitors would be deployed at the feeders which were causing huge losses.

The meeting was briefed that the areas with low rate of electricity theft would have less load-shedding.

An amendment was brought in Section 462 (O) of Pakistan Penal Code through an ordinance to make electricity theft a cognizable offense.

Due to the anti-theft campaign in September last year, the rate of electricity theft had seen a considerable drop.

The prime minister said under the anti-theft campaign, since September 2023, Rs 57 billions have been recovered.

A whole of the government approach was adopted during the campaign to stop theft of electricity. Under the electricity anti-theft campaign, 45,777 people in Punjab, 1250 in Sindh, 5121 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 181 were arrested in Balochistan.

During the campaign, 350 personnel of distribution companies were suspended for their bad performance.

It was told that the task forces set up at district and division levels for stopping theft of electricity would be given part of the recovery amount for their good performance.

Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Leghari, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Industry and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadiq Malik and

relevant officers attended the meeting.