Govt seeks funding for smart meters on transformers across all Discos

The government is working to secure financing for installing smart meters on transformers across all power distribution companies (Discos), with plans to ensure the project continues after the companies are privatised.

ISLAMABAD: The government is working to secure financing for installing smart meters on transformers across all power distribution companies (Discos), with plans to ensure the project continues after the companies are privatised.

The initiative is aimed at curbing electricity theft, improving billing accuracy and protecting consumers from overbilling, according to an official statement issued after a meeting chaired by Minister for Economic Affairs and Establishment Division Ahad Cheema on November 10.

The meeting reviewed development programmes for Discos and discussed the Economic Affairs Division’s efforts to arrange funding for the smart metering project. Participants were informed that progress had been made in arranging financing for the system.

The meeting also discussed how the project would continue after the privatisation of the distribution companies. Cheema said the government would put arrangements in place to ensure that private investors taking over the companies carried the project forward.

Negotiations with multilateral development partners on financing and development programmes would continue until the privatisation process was completed, the statement said. If a Disco is privatised while negotiations or programme preparations are under way, the relevant financing and development programmes would be transferred to the private investor as part of the handover, subject to agreed arrangements.

Cheema said any new project undertaken by a private investor within a Disco must go through competitive bidding and obtain approval from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), where required.

He said privatisation should not result in additional costs or undue financial pressure on consumers. The government would support the process while protecting consumer interests and ensuring that investors met their financial and contractual obligations.

Minister for Power Division Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari, the prime minister’s adviser on privatisation and senior officials from the relevant ministries also attended the meeting.