Federal Energy Minister Awais Leghari stated on Sunday that Pakistan faces a staggering annual loss of Rs600 billion due to power theft. Federal Energy Minister highlighted that despite having 6,000 megawatts of surplus electricity on Saturday, it was intentionally not supplied to avoid an additional Rs2.5 billion burden on the national exchequer.
Leghari explained that illegal transformers have been installed, preventing the government from supplying electricity to those areas as the feeders are not metered. Supplying power to these regions would unfairly burden consumers who do have meters.
The federation has no charity money to give. It is our responsibility to stop electricity theft, he asserted. He also mentioned that the central government has urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and Sindh to combat power theft, while Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has proactively supported federal efforts.
Leghari emphasized the government’s determination to halt power theft, saying, “We will stop it at any cost and not bow to political pressure or threats.”
