Making electricity expensive will reduce its use, increase theft: Mian Zahid.

Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on February 20 said utilization of electricity is very low due to its high cost which is hindering social and economic development.

A hike in power tariff will further reduce the pace of the country's social and economic development, he said.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that due to a further increase in the price of electricity, its consumption will further decrease and theft will increase which will damage the economy.

The whole electricity system is in the control of elites which can only be improved through the involvement of the local communities.

Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that full involvement of the local community in the electricity sector is being ensured in many developed countries, which has yielded positive results.

However, in Pakistan, this sector is occupied by political elites and bureaucracy which has been bled white due to incompetence and mismanagement.

He said that public participation has become essential in power generation, distribution, governance, and other matters.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that by 2030, the demand for electricity in Pakistan will increase from 25,000 MW to 40,000 MW, for which arrangements are needed.

He noted that electricity theft has never been controlled in the country's history and according to the official data, electricity worth 380 billion...