Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities on Saturday to take action against officials and personnel of power distribution companies (DISCOs) who have been involved in charging electricity consumers for “extra units.” The prime minister instructed the power division to immediately suspend such DISCO officials and ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to launch an investigation against them.
These directives were issued during a meeting chaired by PM Shehbaz focused on power sector reforms and the solarisation process, according to a statement from the PM Office. Attendees included Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, federal ministers Jam Kamal Khan, Sardar Awais Khan Leghari, Ahsan Iqbal, Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Minister of State Ali Pervaiz Malik, and other senior officials.
The prime minister emphasized that exemplary punishments should be meted out to those officials who added extra units to consumers’ monthly bills, highlighting their anti-public attitudes. He also called for identifying and punishing those who added extra units to the bills of protected consumers who use less than 200 units per month.
During the meeting, PM Shehbaz urged authorities to accelerate efforts towards renewable energy for power generation, stating that Pakistan could no longer afford to rely on imported fuel. He expressed a commitment to not burden the poor with the consequences of past policy mistakes.
The prime minister assured that consumers would see relief in their monthly bills through the use of affordable renewable energy resources. He also directed the immediate closure of dysfunctional government-run power units and those producing expensive electricity.
PM Shehbaz noted that the world is increasingly relying on renewable energy for power generation and emphasized that Pakistan has significant potential for solar power production. He ordered measures to prioritize tapping into this solar energy potential.
