Army teams were given Rs 9.91m reward

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The government has given incentives worth Rs 9.91 million to army monitoring teams in the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) for detecting electricity theft worth Rs 217.98 million, Minister for Water and Power Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao informed the Senate on Wednesday.

Mr Sherpao had been asked whether it was true that the teams were being given incentives to detect the theft of electricity or not.

Mr Sherpao also told the Senate that a high level meeting had been called on July 10 to chalk out ways to determine the future net hydel profits of the provinces. The chairman of WAPDA and officials, NWFP representatives and officials of the ministry would attend the meeting.

The minister said that WAPDA had prepared a five-year plan (2003-2008) to reduce system losses from 26 percent to 20 percent. Measures have been taken in KESC to reduce such losses. The plan includes a scheme for the reduction in transmission and distribution losses (T&D) from 41 percent to 24 percent over four years through technical and non-technical measures.

The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) has already approved a Rs 13.69 billion-project for the systems improvement of the KESC network and a reduction in T&D losses.

Mr Sherpao said that WAPDA electrified 431 villages from 1998 to 2003 and 483 villages from July 2003 to April 2004. KESC electrified 196 villages from 1998 to April 2004. Some areas in Balochistan such as Mund, Tump, Turbat, Hosab, Panjgur, Pasni, Taftan and Mashkhail are being provided electricity from Iran, he said.

The minister gave a breakdown of the electricity theft detected by the army monitoring teams and the incentives they had received:

Theft detected Incentives

PESCO Rs 38.24m Rs 1.91m

HESCO Rs 52.96m Rs 2.53m

ISECO Rs 43.14m Rs 1.16m

MEPCO Rs 19.8m Rs 1.11m

FESCO Rs 36.47m Rs 1.82m

GEPCO Rs 20.87m Rs 1.04m

QESCO Rs 6.49m Rs 0.32m

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