ISLAMABAD: In an effort to reduce power theft, improve recoveries, and boost operational efficiency, the government has started integrating officers from intelligence, investigation, and law enforcement agencies into Sindh’s ever-bleeding power distribution companies (Discos) nearly six months after the federal cabinet’s decision.
Following protracted political and administrative opposition, the power division established a Disco Support Unit (DSU) for Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) in a notification released over the weekend. This is the first effort of its kind in Sindh. For two years, the unit would stay in place.
According to the notification, the DSU would be directed by Sepco’s CEO and co-directed by the Sector Commander of the civil armed forces. The DSU would consist of Grade 18 and 19 personnel from the Federal Investigation Agency, Military Intelligence, and Inter-Services Intelligence, as well as Grade 18 commissioner and deputy inspector general (DIG) nominations.
Additionally, with approval from the appropriate commissioners or DIGs, the DSUs have the authority to co-opt Grade 18 administration and police officers from each division or range within the Sukkur service area.
In order to help the power division fight power theft and inadequate recoveries, the federal cabinet authorized the establishment of DSUs in all the Discos in July of last year, initially focusing on Multan and Sukkur and then progressively expanding to other electrical firms.
A senior government source informed Dawn that although DSU in Multan was operationalized over a month after the cabinet decision, Sukkur was unable to do so because of a number of obstacles.
Despite some reservations, he claimed, the overall experience at DSU Multan was positive. As a result, the model was often copied by power supply firms in Quetta and Lahore.
“We were able to get support for the establishment of a DSU in Sepco as well after a lot of background engagements,” the official stated.
There are five main targets designated to the DSU Sukkur. These include accelerating recovery and anti-power theft strategies, reducing non-technical losses through administrative interventions, promoting improvement and putting technical solutions into place, addressing administrative shortcomings by forming a connection with civil administration and law enforcement, and suggesting the dismissal of underperforming officers and officials based on intelligence-based testimony. The federal electricity secretary would get direct reports from the DSU.
Ironically, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) noted in its most recent State of Industry Report, which was published last week, that power providers’ receivables exceeded Rs2.3 trillion in the previous fiscal year, despite attempts to reduce theft and raise tariffs. According to the report, the power sector circular debt increased to about Rs2.4 trillion by the end of June 2024, while the real defaulted amounts exceeded Rs900 billion.
Additionally, the distribution and supply segments have not improved in the past year; instead, the rise in electricity sales during FY2023–24 has clearly slowed. The cyclical debt situation has gotten worse due to discos’ lower recovery ratio and higher than permitted T&D (transmission and distribution) losses, according to Nepra’s study.
However, this week, Power Minister Awais Leghari claimed that the power sector’s governance reforms were having a positive impact.
He said that because the boards of eight out of ten discos were replaced without political intervention, their losses decreased from Rs223 billion to Rs170 billion between July and November of last year. “The loss would have decreased to Rs140 billion if the other two boards had been replaced, as these two companies contributed Rs30 billion more than they did the previous year,” he stated.
In July of last year, the power division informed the federal cabinet that effective management in discos had always been difficult and that several models that had been tried in the past to improve things had not produced any significant results, resulting in a growing amount of circular debt and receivables that made the power sector unsustainable.
Therefore, the DSUs were suggested as a solution to the widespread mismanagement that had turned into a continual drain on the national coffers. In addition to their own salaries, DSU members receive a specific percentage of recoveries and loss reduction as compensation.
