PM Shehbaz orders technical audit of DISCOs’ billing system, stresses power sector reforms

Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed a comprehensive technical audit of the billing systems of power distribution companies (DISCOs) and stressed that power sector reforms remained among the government’s foremost priorities.

The prime minister, while chairing a review meeting on Power Division issues, said as performance of the distribution companies had improved, considerably more effort was still required. He termed the countrywide installation of smart meters indispensable for the sector’s turnaround.

The prime minister directed that strict measures should be enforced at every level of the power sector. He added that electricity theft should be eliminated completely, and instructed the Power Division to devise clear performance indicators to gauge the working of the distribution companies and to set integrated targets backed by defined timelines.

The prime minister announced that the best-performing DISCO would be formally recognised and awarded for its performance, an incentive, he said, would encourage healthy competition among the companies.

To effectively address load-shedding in rural areas, the prime minister directed that solarization projects be developed at the village level, saying decentralised solar solutions could ease the burden on the national grid in far-flung regions.

The meeting was briefed on the performance of the power distribution companies. Officials informed the forum that technical and commercial losses of the DISCOs were gradually declining, with the Islamabad, Lahore and Gujranwala electric supply companies recording the lowest transmission and distribution losses during the last fiscal year.

The briefing further disclosed that the Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Lahore Electric Supply Company, Gujranwala Electric Power Company, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company and Multan Electric Power Company achieved 100% recoveries in fiscal year 2025-26.

To curb electricity theft, improve recoveries and better resolve technical issues, DISCO Support Units had already been established in the Hyderabad, Sukkur, Lahore, Multan and Hazara electric supply companies, the meeting was told.

The officials also apprised the prime minister that the first phase of installing an Asset Performance Management System (APMS) at the transformer level would be completed by September 30, noting that transformers integrated with the APMS would help reduce both electricity theft and load-shedding.

The meeting was further informed that a plan to install 16.2 million single-phase Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters in the Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, Hazara and Quetta regions was under consideration.