PM Shehbaz vows to prioritize curbing power theft 

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed the government’s resolve to stop power theft, reduce line losses, and improve the power distribution system across the county.

He informed that recently the government had appointed new board chairmen and members in five power distribution companies (DISCOs) through a transparent process. He hoped that these appointments would further improve the performance of DISCOs.

Presiding over a meeting held here to review the matters of Power ministry, the prime minister directed the Power Minister and Secretary Power Division to coordinate with the provinces concerning halting the electricity theft, performance of DISCOs and other matters of the sector.

“A whole of the government approach should be adopted to resist power theft across the country,” the prime minister said.

He directed the provincial governments to maintain the number of police force and Tehsildars as per the DISCOs’ needs. He also ordered the concerned authorities to deal with the corrupt elements in the power distribution companies with an iron hand and take strict action against them.

He directed DISCOs to make the kutchehri system more effective and result-oriented for public complaints.

PM Shehbaz said that the steering committee formed to shift agriculture tube wells to solar energy in Balochistan should convene immediately.

The meeting was informed that the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding the transfer of agricultural tube wells in Balochistan to solar energy had been notified to the Steering Committee. The meeting was further informed that a package was being prepared regarding the acknowledgement of officers who had shown good performance.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Power Awais Khan Leghari and other officers of the relevant ministries and divisions.