The federal government and the power regulator seem poles apart on the idea of revenue-based load-shedding which the energy minister called “a necessity”.
Power Minister Awais Leghari, in a press conference on Thursday, defended the suspension of power supply to areas with high pilferage and poor bill recovery. This practice, however, has been declared illegal by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra).
“Economic load-shedding has been in practice for six years now and will continue until distribution companies reduce losses and costs,” said the minister. He warned that without this measure, the circular debt would rise by Rs1,200 billion per annum, and consumer tariffs would increase by Rs5-6 per unit.
On the same day, Nepra chief Waseem Mukhtar stated that if the government wanted to continue revenue-based load-shedding, it should amend the Nepra Act.
Mukhtar emphasised that the regulator’s decisions were based on the law. Last month, Nepra fined five distribution companies Rs50 million each for implementing revenue-based load-shedding, violating laws that protect honest consumers.
Revenue-based load-shedding, introduced over a decade ago in Karachi and later adopted by other distribution companies with federal approval, has been ruled illegal by Nepra.
The regulator stated that collective punishment for all consumers due to the actions of a few is not permissible under the Nepra Act of 1997 and the Performance Standards (Distribution) Rules of 2005.
During the press conference, Leghari pledged to bring transparency to the power sector. He announced that power companies would publish daily demand, supply, and load-shedding data through their websites, statements, and the Roshan Pakistan app.
Leghari acknowledged that the total electricity demand had peaked at 25,820MW, with only 21,588MW being supplied. The shortfall of 4,232MW was attributed to high-loss feeders. He explained that feeders with 20 to 80 percent losses were subject to 15-16 hours of power cuts to prevent economic collapse.
He cited specific regions facing high losses, including 350 feeders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 150 in Punjab, 700 in Sindh, and 80-90 in Balochistan. These areas are under a policy of controlled electricity supply to minimize financial losses and circular debt. As losses decrease, load-shedding is expected to end completely.
The energy minister noted that feeders with less than 20% losses have also faced power cuts due to technical faults or maintenance. He mentioned examples of feeders in Lahore, Multan, Gujranwala, and Faisalabad experiencing technical issues.
The minister emphasised the power division’s collaboration with provincial governments to combat power theft and losses, aiming to supply the maximum available electricity to consumers.
In response to queries, Leghari mentioned the KP chief minister’s promise to provide law enforcement personnel to take action against power theft. He also confirmed that there were no changes to the solar net metering policy introduced in 2017, stating that any future policy adjustments would involve stakeholder consultation.
