ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Energy was informed on Wednesday that the government was preparing a relief package for flood-hit power consumers, which would be announced within a day or two.
The panel, chaired by Muhammad Idrees, met to discuss prolonged load-shedding in the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) and measures to offer concessions to flood-affected electricity users.
PPP lawmaker Syed Hussain Tariq, who had travelled from Hyderabad, raised strong objections over Hesco’s performance. He complained that the utility resorted to load-shedding even in areas with 90 per cent recovery.
“Nowhere in the world does rain cause electrocutions, but in Hyderabad, people die due to unsafe infrastructure,” he said, adding that 152 feeders remained shut for three days during recent outages.
Power Secretary Fakhre Alam Irfan said load-shedding was carried out on the basis of power losses.
Tariq asked who was responsible for the deaths of three people who died of electrocution during rains and ten fatalities in 2022 due to a transformer oil fire. “I am not here to defend or accuse anyone but to fix the system. There is no justification for four-day blackouts,” he stressed.
The power secretary acknowledged that Hesco’s annual losses had reached Rs60 billion last year, largely due to poor recoveries and governance issues
He said unlike Multan and Lahore distribution companies, where recoveries were near 100 per cent, Hesco continued to struggle. “We have instructed Discos not to penalise honest consumers with the same treatment as power thieves,” he told the committee.
The Hesco officials informed lawmakers that the utility would now shift load-shedding from feeder-based to transformer-based management. “Only those transformers where theft occurs will face outages,” they said.
Committee member Nausheen Iftikhar raised concerns over inflated bills. “How can a daily wage worker pay a Rs30,000 bill in one go? There must be a solution for installments,” she suggested.
The committee also took up the issue of relief for flood-affected consumers.
The power secretary said the government was in contact with the IMF and the finance ministry to finalise a special power relief package for the flood-affected victims.
“A relief package for flood victims will be announced in a day or two,” he said, adding that the Power Division remained in close coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office.
The secretary maintained that electricity tariffs would not be increased until June 2026, adding that power sector had provided relief to people as compared to last year. “Protected consumers using up to 200 units receive a bill of Rs6,000-7000.”
He also clarified that Hesco and Sepco were not being privatised but would be shifted towards a concession model after performance improvements. “In the first phase, three Discos will be privatised,” he noted.
Tariq pressed Hesco management on unannounced power cuts. “Nepra and the Power Division allow only seven to eight hours of scheduled outages. Why is unannounced load-shedding being carried out?” he asked, warning that false statements before parliament could lead to privilege motions.
