Electricity theft continues to be a major problem in Pakistan, with staggering figures revealing that the country lost a whopping Rs230 billion worth of electricity in 2022. The situation was revealed in a written reply by the Ministry of Energy during a recent meeting of the National Assembly. The ministry also disclosed that power line losses have reached Rs113 billion, while the burden of revolving debt has surged to Rs2,536 billion by December 2022. Meanwhile, the power distribution companies (Discos) on Wednesday requested National Electric Power Regularity Authority (Nepra) to jack up the power tariff.

The Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) requested Nepra to increase the per unit price of electricity by Rs1.17 for the Discos’ consumers. However, the Nepra will hear the petition on May 3.Meanwhile, K-Electric also had submitted a request to the Nepra for an increase of Rs4.49 in the power tariff on account of monthly fuel adjustment charges for March.The power utility has asked for an increase in the power tariff for Karachi consumers by Rs4.49 per unit. The NEPRA will conduct a hearing on the KE application on May 3.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP