To avert financial haemorrhage, a Senate subcommittee on Tuesday asked the government to come up with some other measures, such as monetization, to replace the existing practice of providing free electricity to the 198,000 employees of the power companies.
Approximately 391 million electricity units were provided free of charge to the 198,222 employees of the Water and Power Development Authority, distribution companies (Discos), and generation companies (Gencos) during fiscal 2018-19, according to the Senate Standing Committee on Power, chaired by Senator Fida Mohammad. According to authorities from the power division, the total cost of these free units is projected to be Rs5.26 billion.
The meeting was informed that 16,591 officers were among the 198,221 total workforce, with the remaining 181,631 in non-officer ranks. During the fiscal year 2018-19, the officers used 80 million units worth Rs1.382 billion. Lower-level officials consumed 311 million units worth Rs3.88 billion.
Employees were given free units as part of their service benefits, according to the committee. It was told that because the facility was part of the employees’ contract, it could not be removed entirely, but ways and means may be examined to prevent misuse.
Some senators urged that the facility be monetized by granting alternative salary allowances corresponding to the employees’ free electricity unit ceilings, so that they may begin to think about energy conservation and saving. It was also discovered that much of the electricity supplied to the workers was not properly metered or billed, and hence was being wasted in the neighborhood.
