The country’s public sector distribution companies (DISCOs) lost more than Rs. 2.8 billion due to short recovery of bills in more than 430,000 cases of electricity theft during the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21).
The audit report by the Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP) revealed that a total of 437,841 consumers were involved in the theft of electricity through illegal direct connections, tempering in meters, and bogus installation of meters.
The report further noted that departmental and legal actions were not taken for fixing responsibility and recovery of energy charges.
The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) suffered a loss of Rs. 1.6 billion in 8,297 cases of electricity theft. Similarly, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) suffered a loss of Rs. 46.27 million in 909 cases of electricity theft.
Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) suffered a loss of Rs. 46.92 million in 2,477 cases, while Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO) suffered a loss of Rs. 1.1 b billion in 426,158 cases of electricity theft.
The report noted that the matter was taken up with the management during the period of September to November 2021 and was reported to the Ministry of Power during the period November and December of 2021.
The report also reveals that the Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) held two separate meetings in two subsequent months directing the management to produce a record of the completed action. However, till the finalization of the audit report, no progress report was submitted.
The only solution to this problem is to privatise the department and encourage more electricity providers for competition. The staff of WAPDA are involved in the crime. And most of the officers don’t even come to office on time. The Faisalabad revenue office is full of lazy staff even the deputy director. Misbehaving with people is common. I complained about the staff and not even a single word was said by their senior because they protect each other like a gang. The department lost all the moral values and need complete overhauling.