In what can only be described as an egregious display of incompetence and possible complicity, Sukkur Electric Power Company (SEPCO)—long derided as one of Pakistan’s most underperforming distribution firms—has admitted that sensitive billing data was brazenly stolen from its WAPDA Computer Centre (WCC) during the recent Eid holidays, even though on-site security guards were allegedly present.
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Sources reveal that eight high-end computer processors and RAM modules containing critical customer and theft-tracking information were unceremoniously removed from the Al-Sehra building. The loss of this data could hand defaulters and power thieves an easy escape hatch, potentially setting SEPCO back billions of rupees in unbilled revenue. Yet instead of mobilizing a rigorous, independent probe, SEPCO’s management has convened a toothless inquiry committee staffed entirely by junior officials—hardly the caliber needed to root out systemic failures or internal collusion.
The committee’s brief is as perfunctory as it is predictable: scrub through security footage (if any exists), catalogue procedural lapses, and slap wrists where “negligence” can be pinned. No third-party auditors, no seasoned investigators, and certainly no board-level accountability. Critics charge that this insider-only approach reeks of a whitewash, designed to bury embarrassing findings and shield senior executives from scrutiny.
Repeated inquiries to SEPCO CEO Aijaz Ahmed Channa have been met with radio silence, underscoring a culture of stonewalling at the highest levels. Meanwhile, market data for FY 2023–24 lays bare SEPCO’s catastrophic operational metrics: a jaw-dropping 34.9% Transmission & Distribution loss, recoveries covering just two-thirds of billed revenue, and outstanding receivables towering at Rs 229.93 billion—Rs 42 billion of which is government debt.
Last month’s rebuke from Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Leghari—who lambasted both SEPCO and HESCO for allowing technical and political interference to cripple their boards—only adds insult to injury. Yet SEPCO’s response is to seek licence tweaks under the 2018 Amendment Act, shifting supply obligations off its books and aligning distribution and supply licences for a fresh 20-year term. In an organization this broken, legislative gymnastics can’t disguise the underlying rot: a monopoly steeped in inefficiency, protected by political patronage, and now exposed by a humiliating security breach that should never have happened.
