Islamabad : The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has instructed the power division to terminate the provision of free electricity to government officials between grades 16 to 22.
This move is expected to save the national exchequer approximately Rs9 billion annually. PAC Chairman Noor Alam Khan stated that the committee will write to the prime minister to seek support for the decision.
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He further noted that parliamentarians pay their electricity bills, and therefore, free electricity should not be provided to judges and generals.
Power sector losses to surpass Rs590bn this year
The decision was made after the federal secretary of the
Ministry of energy (power division), Rashid Mahmood Langrial, revealed that the power sector losses are anticipated to exceed Rs590 billion by June.
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Electricity theft, line losses, and non-payment of bills are among the reasons behind the losses, according to the committee. Khan referred to the power division as a white elephant and expressed regret that a significant portion of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan went to the energy sector.
The PAC directed the power division to address line losses and hold inquiries against corrupt officials.
Nepotism blamed for irregularities in power division
Langrial attributed the irregularities in the power division to nepotism in response to a question.
According to the audit report, several discrepancies were discovered, including irregular awarding of contracts worth Rs23 billion due to defective bid evaluation in 
the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC).
Other discrepancies include losses worth Rs2.81 billion due to electricity theft in Lesco, Pesco, Qesco, and Sepco; false reporting of electricity bills by revenue officers amounting to Rs1.2 billion; and blockage of funds worth more than Rs1 billion due to unnecessary procurement of electrical equipment.
Committee expresses concern over project delay resulting in Rs958m fund lapse
The committee also expressed concern over the failure to launch the Dhabeji project in the special economic zone (SEZ), resulting in a lapse of a fund worth Rs958 million. Rashid Mahmood, the principal accounting officer (PAO), was directed by the PAC to investigate the causes of the substantial loss and report back to the committee.
