Policing power theft

Efforts to eradicate power theft in Pakistan face significant challenges, despite much more aggressive policing in recent weeks. Although the nationwide anti-power-theft campaign has yielded positive results, with Rs105 billion recovered and 83,000 pilferers arrested, the road to completely eradicating the problem is fraught with obstacles. Tackling power theft, which has become a pervasive norm, requires not just punitive action, but also a concerted effort in changing mindsets and attitudes towards electricity theft. Without addressing the root causes and attitudes that enable this behaviour, long-term success will be difficult to achieve. Infrastructure, logistical and resource problems all create hurdles in eliminating the so-called line losses. Given the country’s broader financial struggles, it is safe to assume that we are still well away from being able to invest in modernising the power grid and implementing advanced monitoring systems is crucial to effectively combat this problem.

Another significant obstacle is the political and social dimensions of power theft. The involvement of various stakeholders, including provincial authorities and utility companies, is essential in addressing this issue. However, political considerations and local dynamics often complicate and hinder the enforcement of anti-theft measures. When the K-P Chief Minister and other politicians threatened their way into distribution stations and forced power to be turned back on in their constituencies, they were actively undermining collection-based blackouts — as a punitive measure, areas with lower rates of bill payment usually see more power cuts. Given the massive economic implications of circular debt in the energy sector, addressing collection should be above politics. The federal government’s opponents are well within their rights to criticise its policies, including power pricing, but on national issues such as the circular debt and revenue collection, they need to work together with Islamabad, rather than undermine it.