I believe massive power theft is one of the main reasons for load shedding and high electricity charges in our country. The government of PML-N has completely failed so far to control power theft since it came into power 11 months ago. We all remember that PML-N leaders during election campaign 2013 and soon after coming into power in June last year promised loudly and clearly to control power theft and consequently end load shedding. It has been highly shocking and disappointing to note during the last 11 months that the government did not take any action whatsoever to catch power thieves in order to control power theft. The concerned minsters have only been making threatening headlines occasionally in newspapers to catch power thieves during last 11 months.
Even now the respectable Federal Minister of Water and Power Khawaja Asif and honourable Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali have done nothing against power thieves. What they did during last few days is that they disconnected electricity of Prime Minister’s Secretariat, President House, Parliamentary Lodges and some other federal government institutions on account of default in electricity bills payment. Soon after disconnection, the bills were paid and electricity was restored of above government offices. The respectable ministers of water and power claimed in their press conference dated 2/5/2014 in Islamabad that the electricity disconnection of government offices helped recover Rs3.2 billion dues in a very short time. I would like to ask the respectable ministers as to how will this help control power theft?
I think this is again an eyewash and just to make headlines in the newspapers. The respectable ministers of water and power did not explain to public why it took them 11 months to disconnect electricity of their own government departments to recover unpaid electricity bills. I believe unless government controls power theft it cannot resolve nation’s power woes. Even if government completes and brings additional thousands of megawatts of power into national grid there is no surety that it will end load shedding because there are no checks in place to ensure that the additional megawatts of power will not be stolen away resulting into higher circular debts which will make government’s finances messier.
EJAZ AHMAD MAGOON (FCA)
Lahore
