DISCOs Miss Rs480B Dues in 2024-25

Islamabad, August 23, 2025, 08:55 PM PKT — A scathing federal audit report has exposed a colossal failure by power distribution companies (DISCOs) to recover Rs480.6 billion in dues from consumers in 2024-25, driven by chronic inefficiencies, governance lapses, and weak enforcement, as reported officially. As of June 2024, Rs481 billion remained uncollected from 354,515 active consumers and 121,973 disconnected defaulters, with DISCOs taking scant action, while the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) faces flak for staffing just six Tehsildar recovery officers against 60 sanctioned posts.

Sukkur Electric Power Company tops the list with Rs218 billion unpaid, followed by Quetta Electric Supply Company (Rs106.7 billion), Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Rs55.2 billion), and Tribal Areas Electric Supply Company (Rs83.7 billion), with Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Rs12 billion), Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Rs5.7 billion), Lahore Electric Supply Company (Rs5.05 billion), and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Rs66 million) also lagging, despite some regional governance gains. Auditors noted year-long defaults with no legal or administrative response, worsening DISCOs’ financial health and pushing circular debt past Rs2.6 trillion. The vicious cycle of weak controls, unenforced policies, and tolerance of defaults forces government subsidies, borrowing, and rising tariffs, burdening consumers with frequent outages. Web context on power audits shows persistent issues, while posts found on X reflect anger—some demand accountability, others question reform. Critically, the narrative of “sector improvement” may mask systemic neglect—web data hints at past inaction, and X sentiment suggests distrust in effective change, pointing to urgent overhaul needs.