Islamabad, Sep 22: The Power Division of Pakistan has successfully recovered over Rs114 billion in a nationwide crackdown on power theft.
This initiative, supported by the government and military leadership, aims to bolster the country’s economy and is yielding positive results.
The operation has led to the arrest of over 84,500 individuals involved in electricity theft.
In September alone, institutions collected more than one billion rupees from offenders in cities like Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, and Islamabad.
Initiated on September 6 of the previous year, the crackdown targets rampant electricity theft, which significantly contributes to the circular debt crisis in the power sector.
The power minister highlighted that ten distribution companies face annual losses of Rs589 billion, largely due to theft and unpaid bills. The situation has sparked nationwide protests over inflated power bills, with some demonstrations escalating into violence.