EFFORTS are being made by power distribution companies (Discos) to control electricity theft. According to government functionaries and the national media, a massive amount is constantly lost in revenue owing to the prevailing menace.

However, I have yet to read anything about the amount of receivables from government entities. It would be interesting to know about the quantum of receivable amounts from federal and provincial governments, which, technically speaking, is not theft, but is a massive burden on the system as some of the bills are rarely paid on time, if at all.

The federal and provincial governments as well as all their agencies and depart- ments should start clearing their own electricity-related dues to the Discos and make sure that their offices clear the electricity bills from the allocated budgets on the due dates, or should face the disconnection notice like people do.

Ayub Malik
Rawalpindi

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2023