Power Division Secretary Rashid Langrial declared on Sunday that the power distribution companies (Discos') officials in grades 17 and higher would no longer be eligible for free electricity.
While addressing journalists in Islamabad on various matters relating to the power sector, Secretary Langrial stated that the summary of the decision would be prepared soon.
All government executives and workers from grades 16 through 22 no longer receive free electricity, as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in July.
Additionally, the subject of rising power costs will be discussed during an emergency meeting that will be held at the Prime Minister's House today (Sunday).
During the press conference, Secretary Langrial highlighted the weakness in the power system and stated that it needed to be remedied.
He also brought up the issue of power theft and the existing circular debt of Rs. 2,300 billion.
During the news conference, representatives from the power sector also discussed electricity theft, which is thought to cost the nation $250 billion.
Net metering is a source of rising capacity payments, but it will eventually need to be stopped, the authorities added.
The officials also addressed the problem of growing electricity costs, opining that the local currency's ongoing devaluation against the US dollar was the leading cause of exorbitant power charges.
The audit for the Power Division of the Ministry of Energy for the fiscal years 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 was considered during the PAC meeting in July.
The committee agreed to write a letter to the prime minister about the matter and urge him to stop providing free electricity to all officers in grades 16 to 22 after expressing his deep frustration over this situation.
Then-PAC chairman Noor Alam Khan remarked, "The poor pay high electricity bills, but the elite are given free electricity. He continued by saying that lawmakers do not receive free gas or electricity.
According to Khan, the country loses Rs9 billion a year from providing free energy to officials in grades 16 to 22. He said that he would bring up the subject of free electricity in the National Assembly.
The PAC chairman instructed the secretary of the power division to undertake an investigation into ongoing losses in the electricity sector and determine who was responsible for the losses.
It is pertinent to mention here that protests have broken out across the country in response to the elevated electricity prices, notably in Karachi, Rawalpindi, Multan, Gujranwala, and Peshawar. In order to get the attention of power distributors, protesters burned their electricity bills, blocked roads, and surrounded their offices.