Govt unveils hi-tech system to manage loadshedding

The government plans to introduce the Asset Performance Management System, also called the Advanced Power Management System, in stages to curb electricity theft and manage load nationwide. Energy Minister Awais Leghari made the announcement on Monday during an event in Dera Ghazi Khan, according to Dawn. A pilot project will start soon in Lahore and Kasur, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to inaugurate it.

The system will be installed on transformers and synced with smart meters to track electricity consumption in real time. Officials said it would compare the units a transformer receives with the units its consumers actually use, so any shortfall flags theft. A Lesco official told Dawn that monitoring would narrow from a feeder covering 2,000 to 3,000 consumers down to a transformer serving 150 to 200.

The minister reiterated that feeders with losses of 30 percent or higher will keep facing loadshedding, with no leniency for thieves or chronic defaulters. Hours of scheduled and forced loadshedding range from two hours on category-1 feeders to 10 hours on category-5 feeders. Officials argue the current arrangement hurts paying consumers on the same feeder, and the new system is meant to protect law-abiding users.