ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday ordered comprehensive technical audit of billing systems of power distribution companies (Discos) and stressed that power sector reforms remained among the government’s foremost priorities. Presiding over a review meeting on power division issues here, the prime minister said as performance of the distribution companies had improved considerably, but more efforts were still required. He termed the countrywide installation of smart meters indispensable for the sector’s turnaround, a Prime Minister’s Office news release said. The prime minister said strict measures should be enforced at every level of the power sector, adding that electricity theft should be eliminated. He instructed the power division to devise clear performance indicators to gauge the working of distribution companies and to set integrated targets backed by defined timelines. Says best-performing Disco will be formally recognised, awarded PM Shehbaz announced that the best-performing Disco would be formally recognised and awarded for its performance as an incentive. He said such discos would be encouraged for a healthy competition among the companies. To effectively address load-shedding in rural areas, the prime minister directed that solarisation projects be developed at the village level, saying decentralised solar solutions could ease the burden on the national grid. Officials informed the meeting that technical and commercial losses of Discos were gradually declining, with the Islamabad, Lahore and Gujranwala electric supply companies recording the lowest transmission and distribution losses during the last fiscal year. The briefing further disclosed that the Islamabad Electric Supply Company, Lahore Electric Supply Company, Gujranwala Electric Power Company, Faisalabad Electric Supply Company and Multan Electric Power Company achieved 100 per cent recoveries in fiscal year 2025-26. To curb electricity theft, improve recoveries and better resolve technical issues, Disco Support Units have already been established in the Hyderabad, Sukkur, Lahore, Multan and Hazara electric supply companies, the meeting was told. The officials also apprised the prime minister that the first phase of installing an Asset Performance Management System (APMS) at the transformer level would be completed by September 30, noting that transformers integrated with the APMS would help reduce both electricity theft and load-shedding. The meeting was further informed that a plan to install 16.2m single-phase Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters in the Multan, Lahore, Peshawar, Hazara and Quetta regions was under consideration. Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2026
PM Shehbaz orders audit of power firms’ billing systems
