HYDERABAD: National Assembly’s Standing Com­mittee on Power was on Friday informed that it was a decision taken by the Council of Common Interests (CCI) that 25pc of liabilities against provincial departments should be deducted at source.

Additional Secretary Power Mahfooz Ahmed Bhatti told the committee that the decision was needed to be implemented.

He said that a cumulative amount of Rs65.7bn of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and Sukkur Electric Power Company (Sepco) is outstanding against Sindh government departments.

The meeting, held in the committee room of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company on Friday, was chaired by Mohammad Idrees and attended by Syed Wasim Hussain, Shaikh Aftab Ahmed and Syed Abrar Ali Shah. Chaudhry Naseer Ahmed joined the meeting through video link.

Rs65.7bn outstanding against Sindh govt departments, committee informed

Mr Bhatti reminded the committee of the CCI decision regarding 25pc of at source deduction for payment of receivables; and pointed out that these dues contribute to circular debt.

He said provincial government allocates budget for payments of power dues against it departments, but still delays were noticeable.

He sought the committee’s help in ensuring realisation of the dues. He proposed installation of AMI (advanced metering infrastructure) meters in government buildings.

A sub-committee of the standing committee headed by MNA Wasim Hussain submitted its report regarding payment of liabilities of these two power utilities. He noted that secretaries of the provincial ministries concerned did not attend the meeting. The matter, he said, should be taken up by the standing committee. It prompted the chair to convene a meeting in this regard which has to be attended by all three secretaries concerned.

Hesco’s chief executive officer Faizullah Dahri told the meeting that the pace of recovery of dues from the Sindh government remained slow.

He conceded that T&D (transmission and distribution) losses of Hesco had increased from 34.4pc to 38.3pc between 2023 and 2025.

He, however, mentioned T&D losses had indicated a drop of 2.17pc (from 27.45pc in 2024-25 till Dec to 25.28pc in 2025-26 in last six months till Dec) and said that this trend would be seen the days to come.

He said that recovery had increased in the last three years and 83pc recovery would be ensured by June 2026. AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses were reduced by 9pc and one percent improvement meant one billion rupees saving of public money.

Sepco CEO Aijaz Channa complained of shortage of manpower (37pc overall in different categories) in Sepco which affects efficiency. Line staff aged 55 and above could not climb electricity poles, thus faults remained unattended. Secondly, he said, there were areas where even Rangers did not go. So how could Sepco line staff Sepco work there? he argued.

He said consumers would engage private electricians to restore their power supply disconnected by Sepco staff.

He said revenue recovery in Sepro remained 74.2pc in all categories of consumers. At this point MNA Hussain told him that staff from Hesco was transferred to these areas which were inaccessible even for law enforcers. He disclosed dues against NICVD Sukkur were not cleared, which was the face of Sindh government. “We can’t cut the electric supply to it either,” he maintained. The Pakistan Railways also has liabilities towards the Rohri railway station, he added.

He admitted that losses had increased in the 2024-25 period in power utility recovery between July 2025-Dec 2025 had increased by 12.4pc. He stated that when meetings for receivables were held with the Sindh government, the officers concerned did not attend them.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2026