Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday expressed the government’s resolve to stop power theft, reduce line losses, and improve the power distribution system across the county.

Presiding over a meeting in Islamabad to review the matters of the power ministry, the prime minister directed the power minister and secretary of power division to coordinate with the provinces concerning halting electricity theft, the performance of power distribution companies (DISCOs), and other matters of the sector.

“A whole of the government approach should be adopted to resist power theft across the country,” the prime minister said.

He informed the meeting that the government had appointed new board chairmen and members in five DISCOs through a transparent process, adding that he hoped that the appointments would further improve the performance of the distribution companies.

The prime minister instructed provincial governments to maintain the necessary police force and Tehsildars according to the needs of the DISCOs, while also ordering authorities to take strict action against corrupt individuals within the power distribution companies and deal with them firmly.

He directed DISCOs to make the kutchehri system more effective and result-oriented for public complaints.

PM Shehbaz said that the steering committee formed to shift agriculture tube wells to solar energy in Balochistan should convene immediately.

The meeting was further informed that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) regarding the transfer of agricultural tube wells in Balochistan to solar energy had been notified to the steering committee.

The prime minister added that a package was being prepared regarding the acknowledgement of officers who had shown good performance.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Minister for Power Awais Khan Leghari, and other officers of the relevant ministries and divisions.