A high-level meeting was held to assess the severity of the energy crisis in Gilgit-Baltistan and to evaluate the effectiveness of the steps being taken by government departments and district administrations.

The forum was informed by representatives of the Water and Power Department that during the months of December and January an imbalance of 177 MW is anticipated in Gilgit-Baltistan due to an increase in demand and concurrent decrease in hydel generation as a result of less water flow in water channels.

To prevent power disruptions over the time period, the forum agreed to expedite the following ideas for implementation: creation of solar parks in Central Hunza, Skardu, Gilgit, and Chillas to increase the system's available power by 13.6 MW. Solar power units for 20,000 home users are being financed using simple, interest-free loans. Solarization of all Gilgit Baltistan hospitals, clinics, and public dispensaries. By the middle of December, the Education Department will have solarized 200 schools, the meeting was informed.

The forum then assessed the weekly effectiveness of the implemented regulatory measures (from October 31 to November 4). The highlights of performance indicators included the following: 2,669 illegal connections have been cut off. There have been 788 instances of electricity theft found. There have been 196 exceptional disconnections. There have been 28 FIRs filed regarding power theft. Arrears of 13,803,423 rupees have been collected. For the first quarter of the fiscal year 2022–23, a sum of Rs234 million has been collected against a billed amount of Rs317 million, the meeting noted.

Following extensive deliberations, the forum determined that the Chief Secretary's Office would serve as the location for weekly progress reviews of the energy problem. The following additional choices were accepted:
The Water & Power Department will move quickly on bids for solar projects.
Departments, commissionerates, and district administrations need to step up their efforts to combat power theft, illicit connections, and defaulters.

The forum expressed its concern with the Water & Power Department's billing division and urged them to guarantee correct and prompt invoicing of residential and business customers. Director General of Anti-Corruption was tasked to identify fictitious billings of large commercial organizations and officials involved.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk