If a suggestion by the prime minister’s special assistant is accepted, the government may be poised to induct tens of thousands into an already bloated workforce in the power bureaucracy.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had tasked his special assistant, Musadik Malik, to investigate the causes behind the rise in public anger over power bills in August.

The power bureaucracy had complained that a shortage of meter readers was hampering its ability to generate accurate bills, forcing them to rely on a practice known as ‘presumptive billing’, where instead of reading the meter, a bill is issued on assumptions based on past bills.

The practice is commonly used to inflate bills in order to meet recovery targets. Presumptive billing allows recovery agents in the bureaucracy to elevate people’s bills, and unless there is an outpouring of complaints, the higher amounts collected pass unnoticed.

Mr Sharif was told in a cabinet meeting in August that a 10-year-old ban in the recruitment of meter readers had hampered the power bureaucracy’s ability to issue proper bills. In response, the prime minister had asked his special assistant to investigate.

Mr Malik has now completed his assignment and reportedly is about to submit his report. In the report he will counsel lifting of the ban on the recruitment of meter readers. Another source in the power bureaucracy has told this newspaper that the requirement of meter readers is in the “tens of thousands”.

The process of induction, training and deployment is likely to be long mired in allegations of political favouritism, and prove expensive in the long run in terms of the jump in pay and the benefits that will accrue as a result.

Already the lion’s share of the expenses incurred by the power bureaucracy is on account of personnel pay, including benefits and salaries. The move to induct meter readers on this scale is likely to multiply the financial woes of the power bureaucracy. One can only hope that the forthcoming report gives a clear picture of the cost that will have to be borne if their advice is implemented.

Ultimately, the power sector’s inefficiencies will only be overcome with more holistic reform, instead of isolated, ad hoc measures. Reforms must begin at the top, with accountability to independent boards as a cornerstone.

They must also emphasise transparency, and the shutting down of all spaces of discretionary decision-making within the bureaucracy. A regular disclosure regime which mandates the bureaucracy to release a set of data on a regular schedule is essential. And lastly, the reforms must use power of technology.

Meter readers are an antiquated notion in this era of smart meters that can report their readings back electronically. The bureaucracy’s resistance to using this technology should be questioned. Ad hoc measures will surely fail if not accompanied by reforms in the larger system.

Published in Dawn, September 21th, 2014