Federal Minister urges cooperation to combat electricity theft in KP

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division) Awais Leghari has reached out to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Chief Minister (CM) Ali Amin Gandapur of cooperating to tackle the rampant issue of electricity theft in the province.

In a letter addressed to the KP CM, the energy minister called for joint efforts to prevent electricity theft and proposed a meeting to devise a comprehensive strategy.

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Talking about the “severity” of the situation, Leghari stated that police assistance was needed to curb electricity theft effectively. He said that the success of the campaign against electricity theft in KP hinges upon the cooperation of the province’s law enforcement agencies.

Pointing out the huge losses incurred by power distribution companies, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and Tribal Electric Supply Company (TESCO), Leghari noted that these losses amounted to Rs188 billion rupees.

He said it was imperative to address this issue through nationwide efforts aimed at reducing losses and improving revenue recovery.

Laghari stated he was concerned over “governance challenges” in Tesco-managed areas and the provincial government needed to take “proactive measures” to increase recovery and ensure efficient power supply.

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The energy minister called for the preparation of a comprehensive plan to address the recovery shortfall. Laghari said that the provincial authorities needed to take charge of power distribution in Tesco areas.