Technical audit of DISCOs to identify power theft

The Express Tribune reported that Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema and Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari chaired a committee session on Wednesday focused on cutting theft and losses at the power distributors. The panel agreed to order a full technical review of every DISCO to establish how much electricity is stolen, what drives the theft, and where it is concentrated. The IT ministry will provide technology support and help run the review through an open and credible process.

Qualified technical experts will be engaged after a call for expressions of interest is released shortly, with the terms of reference due by next week. Cheema stressed that the review must diagnose the underlying reasons for theft and losses and yield findings that can be relied on and acted upon. He also said consumers must not be made to carry the cost of theft or distribution inefficiencies, calling overbilling completely unacceptable.

Leghari told the meeting that the Power Division shares the committee's objectives and is actively working to curb theft, particularly in DISCOs where it remains high. The panel was also briefed on incentive-based solar pilot projects in the Pesco and Qesco service zones, intended to ease network pressure and line-loss problems. Cheema also committed to doing all it can to stop circular debt from growing further.