Even if Pakistan had enough electricity, how would it reach homes? Though Discos have a serious problem with their inability to collect dues (which then partly leads to the insufficient production of electricity), the lack of generation capacity is also a blessing in disguise.

This is especially true of the distribution side as the existing system cannot even handle the amount of electricity the country needs because it is old and inefficient.

This holds for both the high tension transmission system and the local distribution networks of almost all the Discos.

“The most serious problem is that grid stations, transformers, pole mounted transformers (PMTs) and even the local wirings cannot distribute the complete electricity load for 24 hours,” said a senior official of the ministry.

Though, there are ongoing projects for the improvement of transmission and distribution systems, these are not enough to address the scale of the problem.

“The problem is that only four out of nine distribution companies are collecting the billed amount sufficiently and hence are in a position to reinvest in their infrastructure – others do not have the money to even repair the damaged PMTs. How can they work on improvement plans?” the official said.