ISLAMABAD: In a significant move to combat electricity theft and recover dues from defaulters, the Federal Cabinet has enhanced the reward money for such recoveries from 5% to 30%.
According to sources, the federal cabinet, while ratifying the CCoE’s decision on a summary regarding “Meeting on Illegal Spectrum of Goods and Services: Incentive Mechanism for Recovery of Electricity Arrears Above Two (02) Years and from Theft of Electricity from Private Consumers,” has now approved an increase in the reward money to 30%. And, after the Cabinet’s ratification, the proposed incentive has been enhanced by 30% for civil administration, police, LEAs, and DISCO employees for the categories of ‘Private Running Defaulters’ and ‘Private Disconnected Defaulters.’ For ‘Private Theft Detection,’ the minimum recovery percentage has been reduced from 100% to 80%.
The Power Division initially proposed capping the reward money at 5% to 7%, said sources quoting the decision.
Furthermore, the cabinet has approved the inclusion of Intelligence Agency officers in the DISCO Support Unit and directed the Power Division to issue guidelines for the distribution of incentive amounts to provincial governments in line with the cabinet’s decision, they added.
This innovative financial incentive package is designed to support district administration, police, and LEAs in their efforts to combat electricity theft and ensure recoveries from defaulters. DISCO officers and staff who show exceptional performance in these areas will also be rewarded with substantial financial incentives.
As per sources, the previous incentive package proposed a multi-tiered reward system: a 5% reward for recoveries from private defaulters with outstanding dues for two to three years, increasing to 7% for arrears exceeding three years.
Similar rewards were proposed for recoveries from private disconnected defaulters. Additionally, ongoing theft detection efforts were set to yield up to a 10% reward, benefiting whistleblowers and police/LEAs involved in these recoveries.
The disbursement of rewards will be managed through cheques issued by the Deputy Commissioner of the respective DISCOs, ensuring a transparent and accountable process.
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