Discos guilty of regular overbilling, government concedes

Conce­ding regular overbilling by distribution companies and the power division’s total ignorance about the extent of defective meters, Power Minister Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari on Thursday hinted at reviewing electricity rates for solar, industrial and tribal region consumers to revive plunging electricity demand and counter rising capacity payments. Speaking at a news conference, Mr Leghari also alleged that not only electricity thieves but also the officers and staff of his ministry and subsidiaries were causing around Rs560 billion annual loss. He vowed to end this menace that was becoming unaffordable to the nation and causing irreparable harm to the economy. The minister said the distribution companies were losing Rs200bn on account of electricity units they bill but cannot recover, while another Rs360bn worth of units were lost to theft facilitated by “our officers and staff”. “It’s unacceptable,” he said.