Power theft: Pakistan recovers over Rs114 bln from defaulters

ISLAMABAD: The Power Division has recovered over Rs114 billion during a countrywide power theft crackdown, ARY News reported on Sunday. 

The crackdown launched by the Pakistan government and military leadership’s measures to restore the country’s economy is now showing positive results.

According to the details, over 114 billion rupees have been recovered from individuals involved in power theft while over 84,500 electricity thieves were arrested.

During the month of September, the relevant institutions collected over one billion rupees from electricity thieves in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan and Islamabad.

Read more: Crackdown begins against corrupt officers to prevent power theft

On September 6, last year, the then caretaker federal government announced plans to launch a crackdown across the country on electricity theft in a bid to reduce the ballooning circular debt in the power sector.

The power minister said that there are 10 distribution companies in Pakistan that are facing a total loss of Rs589 billion annually. He said electricity theft and nonpayment of electricity bills are the major causes of this huge loss.

It is to be noted here that the inflated power bills triggered country-wide protests from Karachi to Khyber and protests in some parts of the country turned violent.