Jazz, PESCO and CISNR to collaborate on project aimed at ending electricity theft

In a partnership with GSMA and Center for Intelligent Systems and Network Research (CISNR), Jazz Pakistan is all set to launch a pilot project that will diminish electricity line losses and power theft.

The government of Pakistan has also reached out to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for financial assistance amounting to $900 million in order to implement the project all across the country.

The pilot project, which will cost an estimated 200,000 pounds, will be launched in February and will facilitate 25,000 customers of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).

Jazz was awarded the GSMA Mobile for Development Utilities Innovation Fund for their “Energy and Line Losses Reduction in Pakistan” idea in collaboration with CISNR and PESCO in order to solve the pervasive problem of electricity theft. After due diligence and comprehensive evaluation, GSMA awarded the grant to Jazz in order to facilitate the project’s implementation.

“Empowering customers digitally is no small feat and requires constant reinvention and innovation. This is another commitment to that philosophy to address ease for masses as they access important utility services,” said Ali Naseer, Chief Corporate and Enterprise Officer at Jazz.

The solution essentially uses Jazz’s extensive connectivity to monitor and manage distribution boxes, transformers, and grid feeders in order to create an efficient mechanism for dealing with points of failure, faulty lines, and theft locations.

The grant will be utilized to source and implement these devices all over specific subdivisions of PESCO. CISNR will provide the devices, while infrastructure hosting and connectivity will be provided by Jazz.

The project will take around six months to reach completion, while a year will likely have passed before its implemented all over the country.

This is clearly an impactful solution, as estimates show that not only will it reduce PESCOS’s 54 percent losses to 10 percent, but it will also create jobs for a grand total of 10,000 engineers.