Power Theft Crackdown: Pakistan Introduces New Monitoring System

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DERA GHAZI KHAN: Federal Minister for Power Division Awais Leghari has announced that a specialised Electronic Power Monitoring System (EPMS) is being introduced across Pakistan to combat electricity theft and minimise the financial losses caused by the illegal practice.

Under the proposed system, electricity transformers serving areas affected by power theft will be selectively disconnected, preventing honest and regular bill-paying consumers in other areas from facing unnecessary power disruptions.

Speaking to the media after visiting the expansion project of Dera Ghazi Khan Airport, the federal minister said the airport was being upgraded to modern standards to facilitate international flights. The project, estimated to cost Rs5.5 billion, is scheduled for completion by January 2028.

Leghari also said that work was progressing rapidly on four major development projects in Dera Ghazi Khan, announced by the prime minister. These include the construction of a cancer hospital, the development of a modern sewerage system and major road-widening initiatives.

Scheduled Load-Shedding to Continue on High-Loss Feeders Commenting on the country’s current power situation, the minister clarified that load-shedding was being carried out according to a predetermined schedule. He said electricity cuts would continue on feeders where transmission and distribution losses stand at 30 per cent or higher.

The minister added that the government had provided relief to ordinary consumers who regularly pay their electricity bills by reducing the burden of high power bills. However, he made it clear that electricity theft and non-payment of bills would not be tolerated and that those responsible would not receive any concessions.

Regional Tensions Push Up Power Generation Costs Leghari further said that regional tensions involving Iran and the United States, along with the prevailing conflict situation in the Middle East, had contributed to a global gas shortage, increasing the cost of electricity generation in Pakistan.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to tackling electricity theft, the minister said the introduction of new electronic power monitoring systems would make it easier to identify and control illegal electricity consumption.

He emphasised that the initiative was intended to ensure that law-abiding consumers who pay their bills regularly would no longer have to bear the consequences of electricity theft by others.