Govt recovers Rs72 bln in power theft campaign

Islamabad: The campaign launched by the government against electricity thieves from September 7, 2023 has been successfully continued and Rs72 billion have been recovered from electricity thieves in about 04 months.

According to Power Division, 71,929 First Information Reports (FIRs) have been registered in four months while 305 employees involved in electricity theft have also been suspended.

Those areas where there is no electricity theft have been declared load shedding free, including Mirpur Khas after Mardan.

According to the officials, it was difficult to start the campaign against electricity thieves in Mirpur Khas. The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) management and employees were involved in electricity theft in its region due to which the CEO and team of the company were changed at the beginning of operations.

Officials said that Mardan city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was made load shedding free on October 18.  Peshawar, Sukkur and areas of Hyderabad will also be made load shedding free cities.

Officials further said that the three cities will be made load-shedding free by mid-February 2024.