Officials recovering power dues to get up to 30pc reward

ISLAMABAD: The government has increased the reward amount from 5 percent to 30 percent for the officials who would help recover electricity arrears of more than two years from defaulters.

The system braves Rs589 billion loss every year in the head of electricity theft, transmission and distribution losses, and inefficiencies that add to circular debt. Electricity theft has already been declared a cognisable offense through an amendment in the Pakistan Penal Code (0) 462 through an ordinance.

The federal cabinet has approved the increase in reward amount to 30 percent from 5 percent for the civil administration, Discos, and LEAs (law enforcement agencies) officials for recovery under the incentive mechanism from private running and disconnected defaulters.

Running defaulters are those who default but continue to use electricity because of court stays. They are politically influential persons due to which Discos don not dare disconnect their supply.

More importantly, the federal cabinet has also accorded approval to the inclusion of intelligence agencies in the Discos’ Support Units which will help recover electricity dues from defaulters and detect electricity theft.

However, in case, electricity theft by private consumers is detected, the percentage recovery has been reduced to the minimum limit of 80 percent from 100 percent.

To this effect, the federal cabinet has asked the Power Division to work out the guidelines for the distribution of the incentive amounts.

Power Division claimed that it has saved a net amount of Rs57 billion through an anti-electricity theft drive that began in September 2023 till March 2024

However, the authorities have also recovered an overall Rs97 billion by recovering Rs40 billion in the current billing as if there would have been no anti-electrify theft drive, the system would have braved the loss of Rs40 billion also in the current billing on account of theft. So the net recovery stayed at RS57 billion in seven months.

The authorities have arrested 45,777 unscrupulous elements in Punjab involved in electricity theft, 1,250 people in Sindh, 5,121 in KP and 181 in Balochistan. During the anti-power theft campaign, 350 officials of various Discos have been suspended.

During the first ten months of fiscal 2023-24, the circular debt increased to Rs2.729 trillion including the escalation in payment to IPPs up to Rs1.854 trillion, payables to Gencos at Rs109 billion, and the volume of the loans of Rs765 billion parked at GHPL.

However, during 11 months from July to May, 2023-24, the latest data shows, the circular debt tumbled to just Rs2.655 trillion showing the system piled Rs345 billion increase in debt. The latest figure of circular debt of Rs2.655 trillion includes the payments of Rs1.780 trillion to IPPs, Rs110 billion as Gencos payable to fuel suppliers, and Rs765 billion loans parked at GHPL. During July-May, 2023-24 period, the Discos inefficiency losses have jacked up by 69.12 percent to Rs230 billion from Rs136 billion in the same period of fiscal 2022-23. The losses by Discos in terms of less recovery have also alarmingly increased by 9.27 percent to Rs279 billion from Rs248 billion in the 11-month period of FY2022-23.