Theft Threatens Survival of Pakistan's Power Sector

---

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--In 2004, Pakistan lost 24% of its total electric power production. In 2010, it was ranked 23rd globally among losers of power transmission and distribution. In 2011, it became one of the top 14 power losers in a list of 131 nations.

Dr. Murtaza Mughai, president of the Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW), said that the country is currently losing almost 40% of power generated through various sources. He pointed out that transmission and distribution losses are 2% in Bangladesh, 3% in Finland, 4% in South Korea and Israel, 6% in China and Zimbabwe, 7% in the United Arab Emirates and the U.K., and 13% in Afghanistan.

Mughai said that the power sector's increasing losses were not possible without collusion between authorities and the public, including the business community. The burden of this corruption is shifted to honest and law-abiding consumers who pay their own bills every month and face frequent upward tariff revisions, he said.

He added that reforms are critical in order for the industry to survive. This requires an aggressive strategy to punish those involved in power theft and disconnect anyone in the country who does not pay, without discrimination.

"Electricity theft is directly proportional to increases in tariff, which is almost a monthly exercise, but the faulty strategy of ignoring energy efficiency and reduction in theft will not work for long," Mughai said.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.