DISCO losses fall to Rs325bn from Rs591bn, power minister tells Senate

Minister for Power Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari told the Senate on Tuesday that the annual losses of power distribution companies (DISCOs) had declined to Rs325 billion from Rs591 billion in 2024. He said circular debt had fallen from Rs2.4 trillion to around Rs1.6 trillion over the past two and a half years.

He was replying to a calling attention notice moved by Abid Sher Ali. The minister said the government had refinanced Rs1.2 trillion of circular debt.

Under the plan, he said, the Rs3.23 per-unit debt servicing surcharge would be eliminated within four years, and the remaining circular debt would also be paid off.

Mr Leghari said DISCO losses had come down to Rs360 billion last year and then to Rs325 billion this year. The Power Division's budget support had also fallen from Rs1,180 billion in 2024 to around Rs750 billion, he said.

According to the minister, the reduction in losses had eased the government's budget burden by about Rs200 billion.

On subsidies, he said consumers using up to 200 units were paying about Rs13 per unit against an actual cost of Rs35, meaning a subsidy of around 60 to 65 per cent. He said the number of such consumers had risen from 10 million to 22.5 million in two years.

The minister added that the government was working on a system to target subsidies according to income. It could extend the eligibility limit to 250 units and link relief to monthly consumption. He said this work would take about one to one-and-a-half months.