ISLAMABAD: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) Chairman Syed Khurshid Shah on Wednesday expressed concern, saying that half of Punjab’s population would become patients of asthma due to increasing smog, which is being produced due to coal power plants. He further stated that the government responsible for installation of such power plants could be booked under Section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code, the section imposed on a murderer. He further elaborated that a large ratio of population of Punjab had fallen prey to respiratory diseases, which needed to be investigated. This he said while chairing the meeting of PAC, while Syed Naveed Qamar, Shireen Rehman, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Raja Javed Ikhlas, Dr Azra Pacheho, Senator Hidaytullah, Senator Azam Swati, Shafqat Mehmood and Nazeer Sultan were also in attendance. The chairman made these observations during the briefing of Ministry of Energy pertaining to power generation, distribution and line losses to different electric supply companies. During the course of meeting, it was revealed that every year power worth Rs 216 billion was being stolen in Pakistan. Of that amount, Rs 160 billion were being going down the drain due to grid station faults and Rs 56 billion pilfered by the masses. The PAC also sought complete record regarding late payment recharge by the consumers. Energy Secretary Nasim Khokhar disclosed that the prime minister had also approved establishment of Hazara Distribution Company while the remaining distribution companies would be divided. He told that a sum of Rs 440 million was spent on transformation of 220KV grid station to 500 KV grid station. He admitted that the performance was not satisfactory due to shortage of staff. Shah said that circular debt to the tune of Rs 480 billion had been paid to avert load shedding, adding that when the price of oil was $120 per barrel then the per unit price of electricity was Rs 9, but now prices of oil had been decreased while rates of powers were still increasing and now electricity was being sold at Rs 16 per unit. He sought details of oil purchase and per unit price along with details of grid stations across the country. He said that affluent class was involved in gas and power theft while the onus was shifted on the poor. Shah further said that parliament would not keep mum over the issue of power theft. He told the Ministry of Energy that the power sector’s fate would be similar to that of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) as they would be shifting to solar energy due to corruption. “You will go after the consumers with request to install meters and subscribe the electricity,” he said, adding that the trend in installation of solar panel was high. He said that cost of transformer was Rs 150,000 while Rs 250,000 were being received from the poor masses. On the matter of Coal Power Plant in Sahiwal, Mehmood Khan Achakzai asked the PAC chairman to impose a ban on producing electricity from coal, adding that China had shut down its coal plants while the same machines were being given to Pakistan. Published in Daily Times, November 2nd 2017.