Need to check power theft, line losses stressed

LAHORE:Chairman Kattar Band Road Industrial Association and former vice-president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahmood Ghaznavi has underlined the need to control line losses, electricity theft and to build dams to generate cheap electricity.

Addressing the meeting of Kattar Band Road Industrial Association, he said that all the burden of line losses and circular debt of the electricity sector has been put on the honest consumers, which is unfair.

He said that the business community is already going through tough conditions and the heavy electricity bills and overbilling have broken their backs. He said that the rate of electricity in Pakistan is higher than all other countries in the region, then how can these countries compete in the international market because electricity is necessary for industrial production and an increase in its rate increases the input cost of the industry.

Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi said that although the action against electricity thieves is ongoing, it needs to be made more active. He said that Pakistan is already facing shortage of foreign exchange. Pakistan may need 30 billion dollars during this financial year. In these circumstances, foreign exchange is being wasted on importing furnace oil to generate electricity.

He said that help should be sought from international financial institutions and friendly countries to build dams in Pakistan.