By: Zulfiqar Ali (Kashmir Investigation Team)
MUZAFFARABAD: In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, i.e., from July 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, Azad Kashmir purchased 2.30 billion units of electricity from three companies, Peshawar Electric Supply Company, Islamabad Electric Supply Company, and Gujranwala Electric Supply Company.
Kashmir Digital learnt that these companies sell electricity at Rs 38 per unit, and the total cost of electricity to be supplied to Azad Kashmir till March 31 is Rs 87.69 billion.
According to the documents, the Azad Kashmir government purchases electricity at Rs 2.59 per unit. In total, the government purchased 2.30 billion units of electricity till March 31, at a total cost of Rs 5.97 billion, of which Rs 5.41 billion have been paid till March 31.
The difference between this rate and the actual price, i.e. Rs 35.41 per unit, was provided by the Pakistani government under the subsidy, which amounted to Rs 81.714 billion as of March 31.
The Pakistani government had allocated Rs 108 billion for Azad Kashmir’s electricity subsidy in its budget for the financial year 2024-25, of which more than Rs 81 billion has been spent till March this year.
The last three months of the outgoing FY are left, in which the figures for April and May are being collected, and the figures for June will be collected only at the end.
How accurate are the statements of the Prime Minister AJK?
The Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir has repeatedly claimed that the subsidy on electricity has been paid by his government from its own resources. This claim is not only false but also contradicts official documents and budget figures.
The total revenue of Azad Kashmir is expected to be around Rs 225 to 230 billion this year, of which Rs 115 billion is being given by the federal government from the share of taxes. There is no scope in these figures for the Azad Kashmir government to pay a subsidy of Rs 100 billion on electricity itself, nor has any amount been allocated for a subsidy in the Azad Kashmir budget.
How much profit did the AJK govt make by selling electricity?
The Azad Kashmir government purchased 2.3077 billion units of electricity for Rs 5.977 billion and sold 1.334 billion units of electricity for Rs 11.97 billion. Thus, Azad Kashmir made a profit of Rs 6 billion till March 31 this year.
70 per cent of electricity theft?
The Prime Minister and some of his ministers have repeatedly alleged that 70 per cent of electricity is stolen in Azad Kashmir, but official documents refute this claim. After purchasing 2.30 billion units, 1.334 billion units were sold, meaning a loss of 972.9 million units, which is a little more than 42 percent, not 70 percent.
Govt officials revealed that 25% to 28% of electricity loss is due to technical reasons, such as line losses, while 14% to 17% is theft. It should be noted that the total number of electricity consumers in Azad Kashmir is 0.8 million.
The Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir’s claim that his government subsidized electricity from its own resources and that the people steal 70% of electricity are both baseless in the light of facts, documents, and technical information. The purpose of these statements may be political point scoring or an attempt to put unnecessary pressure on the people or to get more funds from the government of Pakistan.
