Govt rolls out direct electricity subsidy via e-vouchers for low-income households

The Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (MPA&SS) has initiated a new strategy to provide electricity subsidies directly to low-income families through E-vouchers.

According to a news report, this method is designed to precisely target domestic consumers identified by the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP).

The Deputy Director (Policy) of MPA&SS, in recent communications with the Finance Secretary, referred to a BISP proposal dated September 18, 2024, outlining a collaboration with the Power Division to implement this strategy. The plan involves BISP supplying data based on poverty-measurement tools (PMT) to the Power Division for processing. 

Subsequently, the Power Division and Distribution Companies (DISCOs), after verifying registered mobile numbers with the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), will distribute E-vouchers to the designated consumers.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is tasked with coordinating with banks to facilitate the integration of e-voucher payments with electricity bills, while the Power Division and DISCOs will perform data matching to ensure that only eligible consumers based on the PMT score provided by BISP benefit from the subsidy.

The MPA&SS detailed the direct subsidy extension process, stating that 20 million identified households will receive E-vouchers from the Power Division and DISCOs. These households will present their E-vouchers along with their electricity bills at designated bill collection points, including financial institutions. 

Bill collectors will verify subsidies using the consumer’s meter reference number and CNIC, updating the backend data automatically. 

The application programming interfaces (APIs) developed by the Power Division and Pakistan Information Technology Company (PITC) will cross-reference consumption data with BISP PMT scores to exclude ineligible consumers. 

Adjustments will be made in subsequent bills to recover funds from consumers found ineligible after initial disbursement. Households not initially included but qualifying for subsidies can register at NSER desks to be considered in future E-voucher distributions. 

The scheme also stipulates that each qualifying family is entitled to one subsidy, addressing concerns about families receiving multiple subsidies due to multiple meter ownership.

The MPA&SS has instructed BISP, the Power Division, and the Finance Division to implement these decisions promptly, ensuring updates through the Task Management System of the Prime Minister’s Portal, underscoring its role as the coordinating ministry for this initiative.