ISLAMABAD: The typical Pakistani cannot afford electricity due to high power bills, so the Senate Standing Committee on Power on Tuesday requested that the government compare the prices of electricity in neighboring and regional nations.
Senator Mohsin Aziz, the chair of the committee, emphasized the significance of settling difficulties with independent power producers (IPPs), which have grown to be a major burden on the country.
Mr. Aziz reminded the administration that the time for addressing the IPP issue has long since passed, and that the current state of affairs has left individuals struggling with excessive electricity bills and businesses thinking about shutting down.
Rising electricity costs are beyond the means of the general public.
The head of the committee also cautioned that power theft has grown to be a serious issue for the nation.
The secretary of the power division updated the committee on power sector reforms, energy supply and demand, generation capacity, and the challenges of capacity planning while the minister of power gave the committee his word that he will submit the necessary inquiries in a transparent manner.
The head of the committee asked the power division to clarify which areas are most affected by electricity theft.
According to the power minister, the degree of governance has an impact on electricity theft, which varies depending on the location. The power division secretary clarified that the issue has been made worse in some areas where electricity theft has developed into a subculture.
Senator Shibli Faraz participated in the discussion and stated that as the nation’s existing electricity supply is neither affordable nor dependable, the power ministry needs to plan for seasonal variations and prevent repeating the same records.
Specifically mentioning that Mepco serves 48% of Punjab, the chief executive officer of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) informed the conference on feeder-wise scheduled and unscheduled loadshedding.
A similar briefing was given by the CEO of Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco).
The electricity minister stated that more feeders are found in places like Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, and riverine areas, including Kasur, where losses are the highest, in response to the committee’s inquiry regarding power theft in southern Punjab.
