ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed to initiate immediate disciplinary action against officers involved in power theft and awarding exemplary punishment to them for abetting the crime and causing loss of billions of dollars to national exchequer.
Chairing a level meeting to tackle the electricity theft issue here on Thursday, the prime minister said it was their responsibility to create a stable system by taking measures like launching a campaign to stop electricity theft. The prevailing economic situation of the country could not bear the problem of electricity theft, he added.
Premier Shehbaz Sharif said that a strategy should be formulated at the earliest for decreasing line losses and for upgradation of transmission lines.
He said generation companies were a burden on the national exchequer and work should be started on their privatization at the earliest.
A report on complete plan for solarization of tubewells in Balochistan should be presented, he added.
During the meeting, it was decided to install smart meters on transformers under the public sector development programme. Feeder monitors would be deployed at the feeders which were causing huge losses.
The meeting was briefed that the areas with low rate of electricity theft would have less loadshedding.
An amendment was brought in section 462(O) of Pakistan Penal Code through an ordinance to make electricity theft a cognizable offense. Due to the anti-theft campaign in September last year, the rate of electricity theft had seen a considerable drop.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said under the anti-theft campaign, since September 2023, Rs 57 billion were recovered.
A whole of the government approach was adopted during the campaign to stop theft of electricity. Under the electricity anti-theft campaign, 45,777 people in Punjab, 1250 in Sindh, 5121 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 181 were arrested in Balochistan.
During the campaign, 350 personnel of distribution companies were suspended for their bad performance or abetment.
It was told that the task forces set up at district and division levels for stopping theft of electricity would be given part of the recovery amount for their good performance.
Federal Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Leghari, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema, Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Industry and Production Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar, Federal Minister for Petroleum Musadiq Malik and relevant officers attended the meeting.
