Online
Islamabad
Federal Minister for Energy Omar Ayub Khan on Wednesday told the Parliament that Rs250 billion’s electricity was being stolen from the system.
He added circular deficit increases over Rs450 billion every year. He said the government is planning to install 3,000 smart meters and cables in Peshawar, DI Khan and Bannu areas to stop power theft. The project will be completed by December 2019.
He also informed the session that the government was taking measures to replace the outdated power supply system with the latest one. He also said the government is planning to transfer more than 27,000 tube wells on solar power.
Responding a question, the federal minister said an alternative power policy will be presented for implementation in March next year. He said contrary to the previous government policies as many as 45 alternative projects will be included in the system.
The federal minister said currently the alternative power system contributing 5,000 megawatt electricity in the system. He observed that cheap production of electricity from solar power is being adopted in across the world.
Responding to Syed Naveed Qamar, Umar Ayub said the government will not increase power tariff for short time period, adding our purpose is not to invest in power production only but to provide cheap electricity to the public.
He further said the power tariff was the former government policy and the PTI government has nothing to do with it.
The federal minister for energy said that the National Electro-Power Regularity Authority (Nepra) had recommended 84 paisa per unit increase but the government didn’t increase the rate of consumers using less than 300 units. He also said the electricity price has been fixed low for agriculture and industrial sectors. Umar Ayub said the power ministry will save Rs1.56 billion.
Responding a question of JUI member Parliament Shahid Akhtar Ali, the federal energy minister said as many as Rs250 billion’s power was being stolen from the system. He said the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) faced more than Rs65 billion losses this year.
He said the requirement was to install 3,000 meters but the previous government installed only 300 meters. He said the special task force had registered over 8,000 cases against power thieves. Similarly, the government is taking action against Pesco officials allegedly involved in power theft and corrupt practices.
