The consumers of 11 KV Bashirabad-I, II feeders and 11 KV Shahi Bagh feeders will also have their power suspended. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The federal government on Thursday acknowledged that prolonged load-shedding of more than 10 hours a day is being imposed on 2,223 electricity feeders across the country.
According to written replies submitted by Power Division Minister Awais Leghari during the National Assembly’s Question Hour, out of a total 12,665 feeders nationwide, extended load-shedding is being carried out on 604 of Quetta Electric Supply Company’s (QESCO) 814 feeders, 407 of SEPCO’S 707, 174 of TESCO’s 357, 642 of Pesco’s 1,376, 322 of Hesco’s 747, and 37 of Hazara Electric Supply Company’s 286 feeders.
In contrast, no feeder under LESCO, GEPCO OR FESCO is experiencing load-shedding exceeding 10 hours.
The reply further stated that between July and December 2025, electricity consumers used 8.78 billion units of power. The total number of electricity consumers served by 11 distribution companies now stands at 39.22 million.
It was also disclosed that the number of protected electricity consumers has risen sharply to 21.55 million, compared to 9.5 million in October 2021, reflecting the growing financial stress on households amid rising tariffs and unstable supply.
On the generation side, the Power Division informed the House that by December 2025, the country’s net-metering capacity had reached 7,000 megawatts, while off-grid solar capacity stood at 12.62 megawatts, underscoring the rapid shift of consumers towards solar energy amid unreliable grid supply.
The written reply also revealed alarming financial losses within the power sector. Over the past two years, electricity transmission losses have exceeded Rs600 billion. In FY 2024-25, transmission losses amounted to Rs284 billion, while losses in FY 2023-24 stood at Rs322 billion.
Among distribution companies, Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) recorded the highest losses at Rs96 billion, followed by K-Electric Supply Company (KESCO) at Rs51 billion, Lesco at Rs46 billion, SEPCO at Rs37 billion and HESCO at Rs22 billion.
The government also disclosed that Rs310 billion is being recovered annually from electricity consumers to service the power sector’s circular debt, further adding to the financial burden on households already facing high tariffs and prolonged outages.
Following the conclusion of the question hour, the NA session was adjourned indefinitely.
