The Punjab government has approached the Council of Common Interests (CCI) over what it terms an unauthorised deduction of Rs7.769 billion at source from its share in the federal divisible pool by the Federal Adjuster, Business Recorder reported.
In its submission, the Punjab government argued that the deduction was made in violation of the CCI’s May 29, 2014 decision, which allowed only a 25% at-source deduction of electricity charges for provincial government departments — subject to reconciliation of bills between power distribution companies (Discos) and provincial authorities within 60 days. If reconciliation failed, the CCI had directed that no further deductions be made until the process was completed.
According to Punjab’s Energy Department, the province has followed a structured reconciliation process since July 2014 under Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) approved after two meetings chaired by the Federal Adjuster in July 2014. The Punjab Energy Department’s Reconciliation Cell coordinates monthly and quarterly reconciliations with all Discos operating in the province.
The department stated that from July 2014 to June 2025, Rs25.524 billion had already been deducted at source against reconciled electricity bills, based on signed statements shared with the Finance Division.
However, an additional deduction of Rs7.769 billion was authorised through a June 19, 2025 order by the Federal Adjuster for the period between July 2014 and March 2025 — without reconciliation or verification from the provincial authorities.
According to the BR report, Punjab maintains that this new deduction constitutes a duplicate charge since the 25% deductions for the same period had already been made. It also contends that the move directly violates both the CCI’s 2014 ruling and the SOPs issued on July 22, 2014.
The provincial government noted that the last major reconciliation between Punjab and the Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) was completed in May 2016. At that time, Punjab cleared Rs3.583 billion in dues up to November 2015 and Rs3.174 billion up to May 2016, while PEPCO remitted Rs1.110 billion in electricity duty up to April 2016 to Punjab.
The Energy Department added that it had recently completed reconciliation of electricity payables up to June 2024 with all Discos in Punjab. The reconciled amount stood at Rs14.958 billion, which was accepted without objection during meetings held in June and July 2025 with Disco CEOs and representatives of the Power Planning and Monitoring Company (PPMC).
Punjab’s petition to the CCI argues that the unverified claims submitted by Discos and the subsequent deduction authorised by the Federal Adjuster undermine the reconciliation framework and the intent of the 2014 CCI decision.
