DRAFT — Government Unveils Hi-Tech System for Targeted Loadshedding

• Suggested slug: apms-hi-tech-loadshedding-system-pakistan
• Category: Business News
• Focus keyphrase: hi-tech loadshedding system
• SEO title: Govt unveils hi-tech system for targeted loadshedding
• Meta description: Awais Leghari announced the APMS pilot for Lahore and Kasur, which monitors transformers to pinpoint power theft and spare honest consumers.
• Tags: APMS, loadshedding Pakistan, power theft, Awais Leghari, Lesco, smart meters, electricity losses
• Original element: explainer context plus own data point — decodes the feeder-category loadshedding regime (2 to 10 hours by loss category) for readers, linked to our October 20 coverage of the Rs27 power purchase price and the gas deregulation plan
• Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/2038438/govt-unveils-hi-tech-system-to-manage-loadshedding (Dawn, published 06:57 PKT, updated 07:43 PKT 20 Oct 2026)
• Story date: 19 October 2026

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LAHORE: The government is set to introduce the Asset Performance Management System (APMS), also known as the Advanced Power Management System, to control power theft and load management across the country in a phased manner.

Minister for Energy (Power Division) Awais Leghari, speaking at a ceremony in Dera Ghazi Khan on Monday, revealed the government’s plan to use modern technology to combat power theft and curtail line losses. According to him, the APMS will identify specific transformers in high-theft areas, enabling targeted disconnections so that thousands of paying consumers on an entire feeder are not penalised for the actions of electricity thieves.

The minister reiterated that loadshedding will continue on feeders reporting 30 per cent or higher losses, stressing that no leniency will be shown toward electricity thieves or chronic defaulters.

How the system works

The APMS will be installed on transformers of various capacities mounted on poles, housed in a two-to-four-foot iron box. It works alongside Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) and Automated Meter Reading (AMR) rollouts, enabling two-way communication and remote cutoff capabilities.

Once the APMS units are in place, conventional electricity meters will be replaced with AMI smart meters. The APMS will then sync with the smart meters and start monitoring the real-time consumption of electricity users.

A Lesco official explained the logic to Dawn with a simple example. Suppose 200 consumers receive power from one transformer. The APMS at each transformer will record the total units received from the distribution system and the actual units used by the consumers. If the system sends 100,000 units and consumers use fewer, the missing units have been stolen through unfair means. In this way, discos can detect power-stealing consumers with precision.

“At present, it is difficult to detect power thieves in a vast area of 2,000 to 3,000 consumers or even more covered by a feeder. With the APMS, the area would be narrowed from the feeder to the transformer, covering 150 to 200 consumers,” he said.

The system also reports automatically. The APMS will flag theft and line losses to the officials concerned, enabling them to respond quickly. Similarly, if someone touches an AMI meter with the intention to tamper with it, the meter itself will report to the system monitored by the officials.

Why feeders punish honest consumers

To understand why this matters, readers need the current regime. For the last few years, discos have observed loadshedding based on the loss category of 11kV feeders. Feeders are graded in categories 1 to 5 by their losses, and the punishment is collective: two hours of loadshedding for category-1 areas, then four, six, eight and ten hours for categories 2, 3, 4 and 5.

The problem, as the Lesco official put it, is that when loadshedding hits a loss-making feeder, every consumer on it suffers, including those who pay their bills regularly. Honest households sit in the dark because their neighbours steal.

Power experts say the APMS will enable more targeted identification of high-loss consumers, improve energy accounting, enhance operational visibility and support equitable load management through data-driven decision-making. The Power Planning and Monitoring Company (PPMC), the technical arm of the Power Division, is playing a central role in planning, designing and implementing the reform.

The rollout plan

“The APMS pilot project is all set to be launched in Lahore and Kasur soon, as the necessary work is underway by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco). Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate this pilot project soon,” a Lesco official confirmed to Dawn.

The energy reform agenda is moving on several fronts at once. The power purchase price is projected to hit Rs27.31 per unit in 2027, the gas deregulation roadmap is headed to the prime minister, and fuel prices saw their biggest relief since August this week. The APMS fits that pattern: fix the plumbing of the power sector, from theft detection to pricing, before the next circular-debt crisis forces emergency measures. The slowing Q4 growth picture means the government can ill afford to let line losses keep bleeding the exchequer. For now, Lahore and Kasur will be the test bed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the APMS?

The Asset Performance Management System is a transformer-level monitoring technology that syncs with smart meters to track real-time consumption, detect power theft and enable targeted disconnections.

When does the APMS pilot start?

The pilot will launch soon in Lahore and Kasur through Lesco, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will inaugurate it.

Will loadshedding end with this system?

No. The minister confirmed loadshedding will continue on feeders with 30 per cent or higher losses. The system aims to make it targeted, so honest consumers are not punished for theft by others.