ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday directed the power and energy divisions to make special arrangements to ensure an uninterrupted supply of electricity during the month of Ramzan, especially during the Sehr and Iftar timings.

The premier said the installation of expensive power producing units in the country on foreign loans while neglecting the transmission and distribution sector was a criminal mistake and the ones who did it are “culprits”.

The prime minister directed the power division to have a special focus on introducing modern technology in the transmission and distribution sector so that these issues could be addressed.

Moreover, while reviewing the challenges faced by the country’s power sector, especially the issue of circular debt, the prime minister was told that the circular debt has registered an increase of Rs450 billion rupees during the fiscal year 2017-18 alone.

The prime minister was further informed that the reason behind this increase was the then government’s political decision under which the ministry was directed to continue the uninterrupted supply of electricity even to the areas with 100 per cent pilferage.

During the said period, 41 per cent of electricity was being produced on expensive imported oil, he said, adding the increase in petroleum products further pushed the production costs.

The premier was further informed that though the production of private power producing units generally faced a periodic decrease, the previous governments neglected this aspect.

As a result, the incumbent government had to make payments to the power producers at a price higher than the original cost.