Rs 108 billion recovered in crackdown against power theft

ISLAMABAD: In a nationwide crackdown against power theft, the Power Division has successfully recovered over Rs 108.93 billion.

This aggressive campaign, initiated by the government in collaboration with military leadership, aims to stabilise the nation’s economy and is already yielding significant results.

The crackdown has also led to the arrest of more than 84,000 individuals involved in electricity theft across the country.

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In August alone, authorities managed to recover over one billion rupees from power thieves in key cities including Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, and Islamabad.

On September 6 last year, the caretaker federal government had announced its plans to intensify efforts against electricity theft, a major contributor to the growing circular debt in the power sector. The Power Minister highlighted that the country’s 10 distribution companies are suffering annual losses amounting to Rs 589 billion, with electricity theft and nonpayment of bills being primary causes.

This initiative comes in the wake of widespread protests over inflated electricity bills, which sparked demonstrations from Karachi to Khyber, some of which escalated into violence. – INP