‘Transformer mafia’ bust helps Pakistan’s energy sector recover $360 million
Pakistan’s Power Division Minister Omer Ayub Khan said that over $360 million has been recovered from the power sector throughout the country during the last four months.
This was, in part, due to the exposure of a ‘transformer mafia’, responsible for a reported annual loss of around $14 million
The minister also acknowledged the efforts of the incumbent team, who were able to reduce line losses by to 2.4 percent during the last four months while the overall recovery has increased by 1.3 percent.
Omer Ayub Khan said that the power sector accumulated a loss of $3.1 billion in during the last 12 months
He stated this while responding to a calling attention notice (CAN) in the National Assembly, which was sponsored by lawmakers Fazal Muhammad Khan, Malik Anwar Taj and Shahid Ahmed.
There are 8,610 electric feeders in the country out of which 6,061 feeders have been placed in category-I and category II, he informed, adding that there has been zero load management in Islamabad, Faisalabad, Lahore and Gujranwala while only five to eight per cent load management is being carried out in the feeders of Multan.
The minister said there are a few areas in Peshawar, Sukkur, Hyderabad and Quetta where load management is being carried out, but efforts are underway to overcome the line losses and bring further improvements in these areas.
To a question about line losses in the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) area, he said that problem is being observed in a few areas of Peshawar, DI Khan and Bannu.
He said as many as 3,000 people would be recruited in PESCO soon, adding that strict monitoring would be carried out to improve the company’s performance.
The minister said that 27,082 first information reports (FIRs) have been registered against the power pilferers in the country, resulting in the arrest of 4,425 people.
He further informed that 450 employees of the division have been arrested or terminated during the tenure of this government.
Source: Profit Pakistan Today
Photo (for illustrative purposes): Substation / Pxhere / CC0 1.0
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