The national exchequer has borne a huge financial loss of more than Rs45 billion due to electricity theft and other damages during the fiscal year of 2017-18, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) said in a report on Saturday.
It stated that the electricity supply companies failed to retrieve their dues worth Rs78 billion.
The authority admitted that unannounced load-shedding was being carried out by different supply companies and the higher authorities were being provided with wrong statistics regarding the issue.
“As many as 152 dangerous accidents were reported during repair and maintenance works,” the report reads. “Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), Sukkur Electric Supply Company (SEPCO), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) and Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESCO) failed to make any progress in their performance during the last year.”
According to NEPRA, the performance of PESCO, LESCO, FESCO, KESCO and K-Electric fared better in term of providing new connections to the consumers.
NEPRA Report mentions the loss of RS.45 billion due to electricity theft in 2017-18, but fails to point a finger at the culprits who are specifically responsible for the theft. How much of the theft is attributed to the customer, and how much electricity is siphoned off by the supply and distribution companies involved?
What concete steps has NEPRA taken for effectively eradication of national theft of electricity? Why has NEPRA so inefficient that it failed to take action against the supply companies who failed to recover RS. 78 billion?
Thus the total amount of loss to the national exchequer is RS.45 billion of electricity theft plus Rs. 78 billion of unrecoverable amount totalling up to Rs. 123 billion. The Regulator NEPRA must be held accountable for failure to recover that colossal loss to national economy.
Without addressing the above questions, the NEPRA Report is merely an eyewash to cover the regulator’s own poor performance and incompetence.
Its theft provocated by govt itself by raising the tarrif of electricity beyond the limit of people. The present claimed that previous regimen didnot put energy into system from cheap sources.now its their turn to put electricity through solar and wind on short term basis and use hydal source by constructing dams.2nd thing the peoples whom are responsible should be punished as its professional and social negligence
Increasing the tariff of any fuel will create anarchy and chaos in every circle and put its hazardous impact on society either at domestic or industrial level
Is there any Pak university cooperation with manufacturing company to produce Smart Meters?