Pakistan’s federal government demands provinces settle PKR 146 billion in overdue electricity bills

Pakistan’s federal government has asked the four provincial governments to pay their overdue electricity bills, which have reached PKR 146 billion.

Federal Power Minister Awais Ahmed Laghari sent letters to the chief ministers, mentioning that without these payments, it will be hard to keep the uninterrupted electricity supply.

The unpaid bills are causing financial losses and increasing the circular debt, which is hurting the economy.

Punjab PKR 38.014 billion, Balochistan PKR 39.600 billion, Sindh PKR 59.682 billion, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) PKR 8.880 billion.

In Punjab, the main defaulters are LESCO with PKR 17.276 billion, GEPCO PKR 2.841 billion, FESCO PKR 5.057 billion, IESCO PKR 2.933 billion, and MEPCO PKR 9.907 billion.

In Sindh, SEPCO owes PKR 38.168 billion and HESCO PKR 21.514 billion. In Balochistan, PESCO is responsible for PKR 6.576 billion, TESCO PKR 2.304 billion, and various departments owe PKR 39 billion.

The Ministry of Energy has started several reforms to improve the power sector, aiming to make electricity cheaper and service delivery more efficient.

One key focus is improving the financial health of power distribution companies by generating more resources, fighting electricity theft, and recovering overdue payments.

Minister Laghari has also asked officers in the Power Division and DISCOs to help the provincial governments with any clarifications and reconciliations needed.