Rs624 billion DISCO assets remain unidentified and untagged, Pakistan’s Public Accounts Committee has warned, leaving public property exposed to theft and casting doubt over the planned privatisation of the distribution companies.
Audit officials told the committee that incomplete records and valuations could allow public assets to be sold below their actual market worth. The warning puts the government’s privatisation timetable under fresh strain, with the committee demanding certified valuations before any sale moves ahead.
Valuation must come first, auditors say
During the committee meeting, ProPakistani reported, audit officials stressed that the assets of the distribution companies, known as DISCOs, must be properly identified and valued before privatisation. Without that step, they said, the process would lack transparency and the state could lose heavily.
The Auditor General of Pakistan warned that proceeding without certified valuations could result in DISCOs being sold on the basis of outdated figures from the previous financial year. That, the committee heard, would lock in a price that does not reflect what the companies are actually worth.
Power Division officials told the committee that 40 percent of the asset valuation exercise has been completed. The DISCOs have hired a private firm to carry out asset tagging, and officials disclosed that the value of land owned by the distribution companies runs into trillions of rupees.
Committee member Chaudhry Naseer questioned the valuation of these properties. MNA Munaza Hassan went further and called for privatisation to be postponed until the actual worth of the assets is established.
Land will be leased, not sold
Senator Afnanullah, however, clarified that land owned by the DISCOs would not be sold as part of the privatisation process. Instead, it would be leased, he told the committee. Officials also confirmed that the Quetta Electric Supply Company and the Tribal Electric Supply Company have been excluded from the privatisation plan.
The committee directed the Power Division to submit certified valuations of DISCO assets within three months. It also asked for a comprehensive plan explaining the future of the companies’ employees. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry proposed seeking a briefing from the Adviser on Privatisation and summoning the chief executives of the DISCOs if necessary.
Why Rs624 billion DISCO assets matter
The valuation gap sits on top of a power sector already under financial strain. SNGPL is owed Rs169 billion as power sector defaults loom, and a grid failure added Rs400 billion to electricity bills. Selling the distribution companies without knowing what they own would add a fresh risk to a system that already struggles to recover its costs.
Consumers feel the same strain from the other side. DISCOs have sought a Rs1.34 per unit hike from December, and industrialists have demanded an audit of power sector data used to set tariffs. Against that background, the committee’s demand for certified figures is also a demand that the public gets a fair price.
The broader reform plan still points in the same direction. The plan to end uniform power tariffs for DISCOs would let each company charge according to its own costs, which makes an accurate valuation of each company’s assets even more important.
Digital checks on defaulters
Separately, the committee was briefed on plans to digitise the power sector and improve electricity recovery. Under the proposed system, connections belonging to defaulters will be disconnected at the transformer level rather than shutting down entire feeders. That would let the companies target unpaid connections more precisely, without cutting supply to whole neighbourhoods.
Power Division officials said APC meters would be installed on transformers to monitor consumption and identify defaulters. Under a pilot project, 10 transformers in each DISCO will receive the meters by December, with the broader installation programme expected to finish by June 2027.
Hydropower projects under scrutiny
The committee also examined problems affecting major hydropower infrastructure, including the closure of the Neelum-Jhelum project and reported damage to the tunnel at Tarbela-V.
Senator Afnanullah questioned the planning and design of major projects, asking who would be held accountable if infrastructure suffered damage because of faulty designs. He also raised concerns over reports of water entering the Tarbela powerhouse and the collapse of its tunnel, questioning the financial losses and the accountability surrounding major hydropower investments.
Frequently asked questions
What are DISCOs?
DISCOs are the state-owned power distribution companies that supply electricity to homes and businesses across Pakistan. The government plans to privatise most of them.
How much in DISCO assets is untagged?
Rs624 billion worth of assets belonging to the distribution companies have not been identified and tagged, according to audit officials who briefed the Public Accounts Committee.
Why does the valuation matter before privatisation?
Without certified valuations, the companies could be sold below their actual market worth, using outdated figures from the previous financial year, the Auditor General warned.
What has the committee ordered?
The Public Accounts Committee directed the Power Division to submit certified valuations of DISCO assets within three months, along with a comprehensive plan for the companies’ employees.
Which companies are excluded from privatisation?
The Quetta Electric Supply Company and the Tribal Electric Supply Company have been excluded from the privatisation plan, officials told the committee.
