Bureaucrats, WAPDA employees, Judges get free electricity amid hike in electricity bills.
Employees of electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) used free electricity in 2022 worth Rs. 8.19 billion amid hike in electricity bills, according to Senator Mushtaq Ahmed.
The Senator underlined that 340 million free electricity units were consumed by power sector workers, per data from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), in a post on X. He stated that up to 189,000 workers received free electrical units.
The senator added that the country has lost Rs. 500 billion due to financial losses as a result of power theft during the past 15 months.
The Senator further emphasised that 743 workers in the power industry were disciplined for aiding in electricity theft.
422 of those who faced action belonged to Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO), 124 of Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO), and 118 of Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO).
According to Ahmed, every month, Grade 16 officers receive 300 free units, Grade 17 officers receive 450 units, and Grade 18 officials receive 600 units.
Also read: How many taxes are Pakistanis currently paying in electricity bill?
Officers in grades 19 and 20 receive 880 and 1,110 free units per month, respectively, while officers in grades 21 and 22 receive 1,300 free units per month.
On the other hand, massive protests against inflated electricity prices continued in crisis-hit Pakistan, with consumers flocking across the country, burning electricity bills, and chanting anti-overpricing slogans as the country of over 240 million faces an economic crisis, with inflation skyrocketing at 29%.
People suffering from inflation bear the brunt of the impact, as incumbent governments have reduced power sector subsidies in accordance with the IMF agreement, setting new prices at all-time highs.
Because the basic amount of electricity bills is linked to the number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) or units consumed by people, power tariffs contain massive taxes that are collected directly from the masses.
