There is no end to power sector woes in Pakistan as receivables have crossed the 684 billion rupees mark — the highest it has ever been — despite a drastic 27 percent cut in generation costs. Receivables include outstanding amounts against power sector consumers, and recoverable by distribution companies, while their payables are amounts owed to independent power producers (IPPs), fuel suppliers and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). Soon after assuming power in 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government had to face the problem of circular debt of around Rs 500 billion. In order to ward off the crisis under an interim arrangement, the government made payments of Rs 480 billion to certain IPPs. And three years later, the power sector bill has now reached the highest figure of Rs 684 billion. The main stakeholders of the debacle of circular debt are government — represented by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA), generating companies (GENCOS), distribution companies (DISCOS) — and the private sector IPPs. As per procedure, the CPPA purchases electricity from power generation companies like IPPs and WAPDA — the latter now confined to hydel power alone — and then sells it to DISCOS. The crisis of circular debt arises when recovery of bills is not made against electricity sold to consumers. The main culprit in this default is the government itself, and some state institutions and departments. An additional factor contributing to circular debt is areas such as FATA and Balochistan, where paying utility bills is more the exception than the norm. It is clear that payment of dues to IPPs for producing costly energy is a temporary solution that does not obviate the recurrence of circular debt. The government needs to treat the cause, not symptoms. Electricity suppliers, replicating their SOP regarding the common consumer, should cut off power supply to all those government ministries, departments and institutions that do not pay their energy bills. Without treating all consumers, government or private, in the same manner, the crisis will not be resolved. The government also needs to revisit its much-touted plans to change the electricity mix to more affordable proportions. The areas of hydel, coal and renewable energy await focused development. Without tackling the energy crisis in a holistic and effective manner, Pakistan’s future looks, literally, gloomy. It is unfortunate that the masses bear the brunt of government’s inefficiency. There is a small portion of influential departments and individuals that do not bother to pay their bills. Why does the government fail to take action against defaulters? There is a need to rectify power distribution and recovery system instead of burdening those citizens who are paying their due charges on time. It would be hard to find an example anywhere in the world where citizens are forced to pay dues despite failures of the system. In order to meet line losses and end circular debt caused by other factors, government reportedly imposes undue surcharges on consumers. Instead of creating difficulties for the masses, the government needs to address the root causes by improving the recovery of utility bills. And the first step is to make all big defaulters — industries and government sectors — to clear the outstanding amounts due to them. The day the system of payment is regulated — all utility bills to be paid on time and in full, whether the amount is Rs 1,000, Rs 100,000 or Rs 1,000,000 — a great deal of the woes of the power sector would be over.*