ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s power regulator has accused K-Electric of effectively penalizing millions of paying consumers for electricity theft and commercial losses, ordering the utility to immediately end unannounced and excessive loadshedding and banning feeder-level power cuts based on aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses.
The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) said K-Electric had continued the practice despite a Rs50 million penalty imposed in 2024 for similar violations, raising questions about the utility’s compliance with regulatory orders and its treatment of consumers.
The findings point to a widespread problem. Nepra examined 620 feeders serving 2.37 million consumers and found that outages regularly went beyond the utility’s stated limits. Very-high-loss feeders, serving 1.18 million consumers, recorded average outages of 12 hours and 14 minutes a day against a 10-hour schedule. Some 91.1 per cent of these feeders exceeded the limit, with 51 feeders recording average outages of almost 15 hours.
High-loss feeders averaged 10 hours and 39 minutes of outages, while 81.9 per cent exceeded the 10-hour limit. On medium-loss feeders, 68.4 per cent recorded outages of more than six hours.
Nepra said commercial losses, revenue recovery or electricity theft cannot legally justify shutting down an entire feeder. Loadshedding is allowed only for technical constraints, system emergencies, generation shortfalls or transmission limitations.
The regulator ordered K-Electric to disconnect individual defaulters and electricity thieves instead of cutting supply to entire communities. It also directed the utility to intensify anti-theft operations and install aerial bundled cables in high-loss areas. K-Electric must submit a time-bound cable installation plan and a comprehensive compliance report within 30 days.
