ISLAMABAD: Power Division Secretary Rashid Langrial announced Sunday the ending facility of free electricity provided to grade 17 and above officers of power distribution companies (Discos).
The summary related to the decision would be prepared soon, Secretary Langrial said whilst briefing journalists in Islamabad on a range of issues related to the power sector.
Moreover, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar would convene an emergency meeting at the Prime Minister’s House today (Sunday) to discuss the issue of rising electricity bills.
The inflated power bills triggered nationwide protests, including Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan, Gujranwala, and Peshawar. The demonstrators had burnt their electricity bills, blocked causeways and surrounded power distributors’ offices demanding relief for the masses.
During the press briefing, Secretary Langrial also addressed the issue of flaws in the power system, asserting that they need to be fixed.
He also highlighted the problem of electricity theft and circular debt, which currently stands at Rs2,300 billion.
Officials of the power sector present during the press briefing also spoke about power theft, which was estimated to be worth approximately Rs250 billion in the country.
“Net metering is a source of increasing capacity payments, but will have to be terminated at some point,” officials further said.
The officials also addressed the issue of rising electricity bills and opined that the biggest reason for inflated power tariffs was the constant depreciation of the local curr
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