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Islamabad, July 2, 2025 — The Senate Standing Committee on Power held a meeting at Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Mohsin Aziz.
Senator Aziz expressed concern over the absence of the Federal Minister. He criticized the lack of answers regarding Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and circular debt. Senator Shibli Faraz claimed IPP costs were inflated for profit. He said the government is shifting the burden onto citizens. Senators accused the Power Division of avoiding transparency and accountability. The Secretary Power Division said circular debt repayment is tied to a debt surcharge. He assured that no additional financial burden would be placed on consumers. Electricity subsidies have been reduced to help control the growing debt. Senator Aziz questioned the high return rates granted to IPPs. He demanded action to recover excessive profits. The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the Power Division’s vague responses. Senators demanded clear answers in the next meeting.
Load Shedding, Corruption, and Overbilling Under Scrutiny
Senators questioned the continuation of load shedding despite an electricity surplus. The Power Secretary said outages occur in high-theft areas. He noted efforts to monitor theft at the transformer level. Senator Ponjo Bheel reported 14-hour outages in Umerkot, Tharparkar, and Matiari. He said even paying customers face power cuts. He alleged that local officials take bribes for illegal connections. Senator Haji Hidayatullah reported a disputed Rs. 2.3 million bill in Peshawar. He claimed PESCO staff offered to settle it for Rs. 300,000. The Power Secretary assured action on the complaint.
K-Electric reported that 70% of its feeders are load-shedding free. The remaining 30% face outages due to theft. Consumers can now pay bills in installments to ease financial strain. The Senate Committee called for a review of the strict slab billing system. The Secretary said 58% of users pay Rs. 10 per unit. A Rs. 250 billion subsidy is planned with support from lenders. A new app allows users to submit their meter readings. So far, 500,000 downloads and 250,000 registrations have been recorded.
HAZECO officials addressed complaints from the Lora Chowk and Bandi Sher Khan areas. They pledged to fix estimated billing and complete pending repair work.
