PAC seeks end to free electricity for officers

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday directed the power division to discontinue the facility of free electricity to government officers from Grade 16 to Grade 22.

The move will save the national exchequer Rs9 billion a year.

“We will also write to the prime minister to support this PAC decision that will save the exchequer more than Rs9 billion a year,” Public Accounts Committee Chairman Noor Alam Khan said while reviewing the Audit Report 2021-22 of the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) and its attached entities.

“Gone are the days of these individuals living like royals. If parliamentarians pay electricity bills out of their own pockets, the facility of free electricity should be discontinued for judges and generals alike,” the PAC chairman said.

Move will save exchequer Rs9bn a year; power losses to hit more than Rs590bn this fiscal year

The direction came after the federal secretary of the ministry of energy (power division) Rashid Mahmood Langrial revealed that power losses would hit more than Rs590 billion this fiscal year by June.

Line losses, electricity theft and failure to pay electricity bills, were some of the reasons contributing to losses in the energy sector, the committee was informed.

Describing the power division as the white elephant, Mr Khan lamented that a major chunk of the loan from International Monetary Fund (IMF) went to the energy sector.

“We keep dumping the loan money into the energy sector, which is an abyss. We have asked the power division to control line losses,” the PAC chairman said.

He also directed Mr Langrial to hold meetings of Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) to conduct inquiries against alleged corrupt officials and suggest to PAC cases that needed to be handed to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The PAC gave the federal secretary two weeks to complete the inquiry until the committee met again.

In response to question, Mr Langrial attributed irregularities in the power division to nepotism.

Some of the major discrepancies highlighted in the audit paras included irregular award of contracts due to defective/deficient bid evaluation in National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) worth Rs23 billion, losses due to theft of electricity worth Rs2.81bn in Lesco, Pesco, Qesco, and Sepco, false reporting of electricity bills by revenue officers Rs1.2bn and blockage of funds due to unnecessary procurement of electrical equipment of more than Rs1bn.

The committee expressed concern over failure to initiate the Dhabeji project in special economic zone (SEZ) that resulted in the lapse of Rs958m fund and directed the principle accounting officer (PAO), Rashid Mahmood, to hold an enquiry to look into the reasons for the lapse of the huge amount and report to the PAC.

Published in Dawn, March 30th, 2023