Pakistan Government Orders Technical Audit of Discos to Curb Power Theft and Losses
The federal government announced a comprehensive technical audit of all former Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) distribution companies, known as Discos, to determine the actual scale, geographical concentration, and causes of power theft, as well as technical and commercial losses. According to announcements from the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication and participating regulatory bodies, the initiative aims to target underlying grid inefficiencies without shifting the financial burden onto consumers through overbilling.
High-Loss Geographies and the Push for Diagnostic Audits
The decision materialized during a high-level meeting of a special committee constituted by the prime minister on Inefficiencies and Electricity Theft in Discos. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Cheema and Federal Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari co-chaired the session in Islamabad.
Energy networks in specific regional jurisdictions continue to bleed revenue. For instance, incentive-based solarisation pilot projects are currently rolling out in areas served by the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) and the Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco). These regions exhibit exceptionally high rates of electricity theft and line losses. By introducing decentralized solar solutions, authorities hope to relieve physical pressure on regional transmission lines while curbing habitual diversion.
Navigating the complex regulatory requirements and compliance standards tied to these regional energy assets demands specialized oversight.
Technological Intervention and the Private Buyer Safeguard
To ensure absolute credibility, the Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication has been tasked with facilitating the technical audit through a transparent mechanism. An expression of interest (EoI) will soon be issued to engage qualified technical experts, with the terms of reference scheduled for finalization by the following week.
Simultaneously, the government is pressing forward with the installation of Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters. This rollout applies even to Discos currently earmarked for privatization.
Federal Minister Ahad Cheema addressed the issue directly during the deliberations.
“The government is fully focused on reducing electricity theft. Under no circumstances will the burden of power theft or inefficiencies within the distribution system be shifted to the people. Overbilling is completely unacceptable,” Cheema stated.
He added that findings from the diagnostic analysis will allow the administration to craft evidence-based policies designed to stop the accumulation of circular debt. Power Division leadership echoed this stance, noting that monitoring tools and digital data verification are scaling up across high-loss distribution zones.
Enforcement Actions and Institutional Accountability
While technical audits target structural leaks, aggressive field enforcement continues in major urban centers and surrounding districts. The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) previously reported nearly 1,800 power theft cases across Lahore metropolitan, Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura, and Nankana Sahib within a single reporting month. Of those detections, 1,542 involved domestic connections and three involved agricultural users, resulting in hundreds of formal first information reports and dozens of immediate arrests.
Despite these enforcement pushes, administrative slip-ups in billing remain a flashpoint. Both ministers warned that any Disco attempting to mask operational shortcomings or physical theft through inflated consumer bills will face immediate regulatory penalties.
Resolving localized supply anomalies and verifying grid integrity requires robust technical infrastructure.
As the terms of reference take shape and technical experts deploy across regional networks, the long-term success of the audit depends on whether state regulators can permanently decouple consumer billing from systemic utility losses.