Electricity theft in Pakistan or Electricity hooking in Pakistan has particular meaning throughout Pakistan, especially in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. Generally, it refers to a specific form of

electricity theft Electricity theft is the criminal practice of stealing electrical power. The practice of stealing electricity is nearly as old as electricity distribution. Electricity theft is accomplished via a variety of means, from methods as rudimentary a ...

. In Karachi, a

parallel Parallel is a geometric term of location which may refer to: Computing * Parallel algorithm * Parallel computing * Parallel metaheuristic * Parallel (software), a UNIX utility for running programs in parallel * Parallel Sysplex, a cluster of IBM ...

power supply has been running for years. Electricity shortages throughout Pakistan are a chronic issue. Street protests in Pakistan for

power outages A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...

and poor grid performance are common. Despite public pressure, the

government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

has failed to resolve the issue, and has been criticised for its responses to victims of electricity supply shortages.

Electricity theft

In 2013, it was declared in the

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakista ...

, that Pakistan had lost Rs90 billion (equivalent to ₨ billion in ) in the last 5 years to electricity theft and line losses.

Power supply to Karachi

K-Electric Electric (KE) ( ur, ) (formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company / Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited) is a Pakistani investor-owned utility company based in Karachi. K-Electric is a privately owned and vertically-integrated e ...

is a successor to KESC which was its original name for more than 70 years. It is integrated in generation, transmission and distribution to the whole Karachi city and its surroundings. Post 1990 it was placed under

WAPDA The Pakistan Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA; ur, ) is a government-owned public utility maintaining power and water in Pakistan, although it does not manage thermal power. WAPDA includes Tarbela and Mangla dams among its resources. ...

control with the company's share price at Rs.160/- in stock market. According to the

Pakistan Observer The ''Pakistan Observer'' is one of the oldest and widely read English-language daily newspapers of Pakistan. It is published in six cities – Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, Peshawar, and Muzaffarabad. The newspaper was founded in 1988 b ...

, WAPDA poorly managed KESC, resulting in its later privitisation.

Lack of access to power

According to estimates published in 2012-13, there were approximately 483

Katchi Abadi Squatting in Pakistan is the occupation of unused land or derelict buildings without the permission of the owner. Squatted informal settlements formed following the Partition of India, creation of Pakistan in 1947. They were known first as "bastis ...

s (

informal settlements Informal housing or informal settlement can include any form of housing, shelter, or settlement (or lack thereof) which is illegal, falls outside of government control or regulation, or is not afforded protection by the state. As such, the inform ...

) in Karachi prior to 1990; residents of such localities do not have legal right to have civic facilities and basic living provisions such as electricity/water from government departments. According to the Chairman of Standing Committee on Urban Development of the

Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry Since its inception in 1950, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) has advocated and voiced the collective opinion, concern and aspiration of the private sector and offered helpful advice and solid assistance to the Gove ...

, this has now grown to over 4,700 settlements.

Monopoly and international competition

Artificial reasons of theft

Difference in time of load-shedding Many illegal ‘Kunda’ connections are overloading K-Electric's network, as well as causing financial losses. One method of getting electricity into the Kunda system is accessing a nearby area where timing of two neighborhoods are different for load shedding.

More consumption versus higher cost

One reason for electricity theft is that, whilst usage is increasing, costs have also risen. In 2009 a religious decree was issued in prohibiting theft of electricity.

Anti-theft measures by Pakistan and K-Electric

In 2014 the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Kiamari Keamari ( sd, ڪياماڙي, ur, کیماڑی ) is a neighbourhood in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Keamari was originally an independent settlement that was built on a sandy ridge on the eastern side of Karachi Harbour. History Keamari was a l ...

area of Karachi and there are plans for the entire city is to be covered in the future.

References

{{Reflist, colwidth=30em Electric power in Pakistan Crime in Pakistan Theft