The government is working out its subsidy plan for millions of lifeline power consumers through the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and the proposal will soon be presented to the Federal Cabinet for approval.
According to a news report, the Power Division, in collaboration with BISP, has proposed the Electricity Subsidy Program to transform the current untargeted subsidy into a targeted one, aimed at underprivileged domestic electricity consumers across Pakistan. BISP will assist in identifying and targeting eligible families.
In consultation with the Power Division, BISP is setting the eligibility criteria for the subsidy program. The Power Division will specify the number of subsidies to be provided, and BISP will screen families from its database based on reported electric connections.
The process will continue until the required number of subsidies is reached. BISP will also register families not currently in the database.
The Power Division will coordinate with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to onboard financial institutions and banks for subsidy implementation and payment processing. This includes coordinating bill collection through Pakistan Post, commercial banks, and mobile banking.
The Power Division will conduct a risk assessment of the subsidy design and ensure safeguards are in place. BISP will use the National Socio Economic Registry (NSER) database to identify potential families and share this information with the Power Division. APIs will be used for system-level data integration.
Families not part of the NSER database will be mobilized for registration through 647 Dynamic Registration Centres (DRCs) established in every Tehsil across Pakistan. Once eligible consumers are identified, the Power Division will notify them via SMS about their nomination for the subsidy program.
