ISLAMABAD: The government on Wednesday decided to undertake a comprehensive technical audit of all ex-Wapda distribution companies (Discos) to determine the actual scale, causes and geographical concentration of power theft, as well as technical and commercial losses.
The decision was taken at a meeting of a special committee constituted by the prime minister on “Inefficiencies and Electricity Theft in Discos” to review measures for curbing electricity theft, reducing distribution losses and improving the performance of power distribution companies. Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema and Minister for Power Division Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari co-chaired the meeting.
The committee was given detailed briefings by the Power Division, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Digital Authority (PDA) and other relevant institutions on power theft, distribution losses, recoveries and technology-based interventions in the power sector.
The IT ministry was assigned responsibility for providing technological assistance and facilitating the technical audit through a transparent and credible mechanism. An expression of interest (EoI) will be issued shortly to engage suitably qualified technical experts for the exercise. The meeting decided that the terms of reference (ToR) for the technical audit would be finalised by next week.
EoI to be issued for hiring qualified experts; ToR to be finalised next week
The meeting also discussed the encouraging impact of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) initiative and decided to continue and expedite the penetration of AMI meters even in Discos set aside for privatisation to ensure that new private buyers did not resort to overbilling to the disadvantage of consumers.
Ahad Cheema stressed that the audit must include a comprehensive diagnostic analysis of the underlying causes of power theft and losses and produce credible and actionable findings. “The government is fully focused on reducing electricity theft. Under no circumstances will the burden of power theft or inefficiencies within the distribution system be shifted to the people. Overbilling is completely unacceptable,” he was quoted as saying.
The minister said the findings of the technical audit would enable the government to take targeted and evidence-based measures to reduce power theft and distribution losses. He reiterated that every possible step would be taken to prevent any further increase in circular debt.
Awais Leghari said the Power Division was fully aligned with the objectives of the committee and was actively working to control theft and losses, particularly in Discos where the incidence of electricity theft remained high.
Published in Dawn, September 24th, 2026
