Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday directed relevant authorities to show zero tolerance for power theft, and called for expediting steps to reduce reliance on imported fuels.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif issued the directions while chairing a meeting to review reform measures in the power sector. He called for a comprehensive strategy to meet future energy needs through renewable sources, noting increased generation from hydropower, solar energy, biogas and other renewables would help reduce production costs and positively impact economic growth.
During the meeting, the prime minister also ordered strict departmental action against power distribution companies found violating the Economic Merit Order.
The statement said Sharif had instructed officials to accelerate the implementation of smart meter installation on transformers in areas with high electricity theft and to fast-track measures for promoting a competitive electricity market in the country. He further directed authorities to expedite work on supplying 400MW of electricity to the private sector in the first phase under the wheeling regime.
During the meeting, relevant officials informed the participants that electricity theft, non-payment, and other losses in distribution companies had significantly decreased compared to last year due to effective measures. They claimed transmission and distribution losses had declined from 18.3% in June 2024 to 15.3% in March 2026. Similarly, they claimed, recovery of electricity bills improved from 90% in June 2024 to 96.46% in March 2026.
The meeting was informed of work underway to privatize three distribution companies, with plans to complete the bidding process by November. Officials also noted that smart meters had been installed on 2,500 loss-making feeders nationwide.
Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik, Power Minister Sardar Awais Leghari, Adviser on Privatization Muhammad Ali, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kayani and senior officials from relevant institutions attended the meeting.