PAC told CPPA failed to recover Rs1,719 bn from Discos

ISLAMABAD: The Public Accounts Committee on Thursday sought details from all the Power Distribution Companies (Discos) of power theft, line losses and consumer liabilities towards distribution companies.

The Public Accounts Committee was informed that the Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) has to recover over Rs315 billion from its consumers. The meeting of the PAC was headed by its Chairman Rana Tanveer Hussain in which the audit paras related to Power Division for the financial year 2018-19 were examined. The audit officials briefed the committee on failure to recover dues of over Rs1,709 billion from various Discos by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (Guarantee) (CPPA-G).

Member PAC Syed Naveed Qamar said until the system improves, the Discos cannot make recoveries and the crisis will continue. Another Member PAC Khawaja Muhammad Asif said there is corruption from lineman to Disco chiefs.

Chairman PAC Rana Tanveer Hussain asked the secretary of Power Division if he could do anything about it. The secretary Power Division said this audit para was based on the CPPA's failure to recover dues from the Discos. Rana Tanveer Hussain asked the Discos to provide details of the dues to be collected from the consumers to the committee.