The government is nearing completion of a comprehensive plan to provide targeted electricity subsidies to millions of lifeline consumers across Pakistan. This initiative, designed in collaboration with the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) and the Power Division, aims to transition from untargeted subsidies to a more focused approach, ensuring that only the underprivileged domestic electricity consumers benefit.
The primary goal is to identify and support eligible families, ensuring that the financial aid reaches those who need it the most. BISP, leveraging its extensive National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) database, will play a crucial role in determining eligibility criteria and identifying potential beneficiaries.
BISP, in consultation with the Power Division, is tasked with setting the eligibility criteria for the subsidy program. The Power Division will specify the number of unique subsidies to be provided, and BISP will screen families from its database to identify those with electric connections, starting from a specified cut-off score. This process will continue until the total number of subsidies determined by the Power Division is met. Additionally, BISP will continue to register families that are not currently part of the NSER database through 647 Dynamic Registration Centres (DRCs) established across Pakistan.
To ensure seamless implementation and payment processing, the Power Division will coordinate with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and various financial institutions, including commercial banks and mobile banking services. This collaboration will cover all aspects of bill collection, ensuring that the subsidy reaches the intended beneficiaries efficiently.
The Power Division will also conduct a thorough risk assessment of the subsidy design, placing safeguards to mitigate potential risks. This step is crucial to ensure the program’s integrity and effectiveness.
Using the NSER database, BISP will identify eligible families based on the determined criteria and share this information with the Power Division. BISP will expose APIs for system-level data integration, facilitating seamless data exchange between the entities involved.
Once the Power Division receives the data of potential beneficiaries, they will notify the identified families via SMS, informing them of their nomination for the subsidy program. This proactive communication ensures that beneficiaries are aware of the support available to them.
To claim the subsidy, consumers will visit designated banks with their generated electricity bills. The bank will conduct biometric verification to confirm the consumer’s identity. Once verified against their CNIC, the financial institution’s representative will process the bill payment, adjusting the subsidy amount accordingly. This method ensures that the subsidy is directly applied to the consumer’s bill, reducing the financial burden on underprivileged families.
Financial institutions and the Power Division will mutually agree on the periodicity for reconciling the collected subsidized bills. This regular reconciliation process will ensure that all transactions are accurately recorded and that the subsidy program runs smoothly.
