The Power Division has recovered over Rs108.93 billion in a nationwide crackdown on power theft.
The crackdown on power theft, which was started by the Pakistan government and supported by military leaders to improve the country’s economy, is now showing positive results.
So far, more than 108 billion rupees have been recovered from people caught stealing electricity. Additionally, over 84,000 people involved in power theft have been arrested.
In August alone, the authorities collected over one billion rupees from electricity thieves in cities like Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, and Islamabad.
On September 6, the caretaker federal government announced plans to start a nationwide crackdown on electricity theft to help reduce the growing circular debt in the power sector.
The power minister reported that there are 10 distribution companies in Pakistan facing a combined annual loss of Rs589 billion. He explained that the main reasons for this massive loss are electricity theft and people not paying their electricity bills.
It’s also important to mention that high power bills led to protests across the country, from Karachi to Khyber. In some areas, these protests even became violent.
The government has decided to close utility stores all over the country.
