Govt to switch off theft-hit transformers

The federal government has decided to introduce a new electricity management system that will allow authorities to switch individual power transformers on and off instead of shutting down entire feeders in areas affected by electricity theft.

Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari said while speaking to the media at Parliament House that the proposed system would help prevent consumers from being affected by outages across an entire feeder because of theft or losses linked to a particular transformer.

Under the new approach, electricity supply to a specific transformer could be disconnected when theft is detected, while other parts of the feeder would continue receiving power. The initiative is aimed at improving load management and reducing unnecessary interruptions for consumers.

The government plans to apply the system across a large number of distribution transformers. The Power Division has already described transformer-level load management as part of its broader effort to minimise feeder and grid shutdowns through technology.

Leghari said the concept is already being used internationally and that a regulatory framework for implementing the system is expected to be prepared by April or May next year.

The minister also maintained that there is currently no additional load-shedding being carried out in the country. His comments come amid ongoing government efforts to improve electricity distribution and address losses caused by theft and other inefficiencies.

Leghari further discussed changes to the net-metering system, saying the revised arrangements had encouraged some consumers to install battery storage systems. He argued that the previous arrangement placed an additional financial burden on the wider consumer base to accommodate a relatively small number of users.

The government has been pursuing wider reforms aimed at reducing distribution losses, improving digital monitoring and strengthening the efficiency of electricity distribution companies. The Power Division has also been expanding advanced metering infrastructure, with millions of electricity meters being converted to digital systems in phases.