Loadshedding Pepco to report on exemptions

Chief justice says Rs40b subsidy mainly benefitting electricity thieves.

LAHORE:

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial of the Lahore High Court on Thursday sought a report from the Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) on electricity being supplied to consumers from each grid station and alleged exemptions from load-shedding granted to government residences and Bahria Town.

The chief justice was hearing a petition against the unfair distribution of electricity supplies. Earlier, Pepco’s counsel told the court that the line losses in Lahore were less than in other regions. He said many distribution companies suffered line losses of 11 to 23 per cent.

The chief justice said that electricity thieves appeared to be the major beneficiaries of the Rs40 billion subsidy on power.

He said the government should subsidise electricity for consumers who pay their bills regularly.

A representative of the National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) told the court that a smart digital meters project for lifeline electricity consumers was on the cards.



Advocate Azhar Siddique, the petitioner, argued that political appointments in the power sector had destroyed the system.

He said Wapda officials were supplied free electricity while ordinary citizens were forced to pay inflated bills and suffer through unannounced power outages.

The petitioner claimed that the Punjab was being discriminated against in power supply.

He said that the other provinces suffered higher rates of electricity theft and had lower rates of recovery.

He said VVIP residences and the Bahria Town housing society were exempt from load-shedding.

The chief justice sought a report from Pepco and adjourned for March 20.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 8^th, 2013.