Electricity theft in Pakistan

Electricity theft in Pakistan or Electricity hooking in Pakistan has particular meaning throughout Pakistan, especially in Karachi and Lahore. Generally, it is used for illegal electricity connection. In Karachi, a parallel power supply has been running for years.
Electricity shortage throughout Pakistan is a chronic issue. Street protests in Pakistan for electricity shutdown and poor performance are common. However, no proper solution is achieved by the protesters, instead a sweet promise is assured to the victims of electricity supply by the concerned quarters of the locality.
Electricity theft.
Energy theft is a world issue and this white collar crime is committed elsewhere irrespective of economic stability of countries. Electricity theft of 6 billion US dollars per year was reported in 2012-13 alone in the US. A business case from a utility in Canada, BC Hydro, claims that electricity theft cost them at least 850 GWh (gigawatt-hours) or approximately US Dollar 100 million per year. In some countries, energy loss due to theft is estimated at over 35%. Legitimate customers bear the cost of electricity theft, which has grown significantly in the recent decades. The rate of stealing electricity is much higher in developing countries like Pakistan.
In 2013 it was placed on record in the Senate of Pakistan, that in the last 5 years Pakistan had lost Rs 90 billion in electricity theft and line losses.
Power supply to Karachi.
K-Electric is a successor to KESC which was its original name for more than 70 years and was operating as a vertically integrated power utility in Pakistan. It is thoroughly integrated in generation, transmission and distribution to the whole Karachi city and its surroundings. Earlier to 1990 KESC was enjoying a good reputation. Suddenly it was placed under WAPDA control at that time company’s share with its face value in Pakistan Rupees 10/- was selling at Rs.160/- in stock market. WAPDA was ill-reputed for corruption and mismanagement. Under WAPDA control its share was trading below face value. However KESC was privatized later.
Urbanization without town planning.
BBC Delhi correspondent, besides citing different issues, one of the disclosed reasons of electricity theft was that in India poor people buy stolen power because they cannot afford to buy it. In Karachi this reason can also be observed in least developed areas. According to estimates published in 2012-13, there were approximately 483 Katchi Abadis (informal settlements) in Karachi prior to 1990, the residents of such localities do not have legal right to have civic facilities and basic living provisions such as electricity/water from government departments. According to Chairman of Standing Committee on Urban Development of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, now it has grown to over 4,700. This is a main reason, where poor and deprived people are compelled to deal with Kunda Mafia.
Monopoly and international competition.
Electricity theft, particularly in Pakistan, can best be evaluated in the finding/study by Thomas B. Smith Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Zayed University, Dubai, UAE 
Kunda as a temporary solutions.
According to disclosing by KESC sources the Daily Times Pakistan writes:
Artificial reasons of theft.
Difference in time of load-shedding: A large number of illegal ‘kunda’ connections are overloading the K-Electric. The use of kunda connections not only a cause of financial losses to K-Electric but also the main reason of frequent tripping. Among many other reasons one of the basis of getting electricity through kunda system is access of consumer to a nearby area where timing of two neighborhoods are different for load shedding.
Night Matches Kunda system is also applied in Saturday night matches which is very common in Karachi. They use at least 15-20 of 500-watts bulb rods for lighting a little area of pitch.
More consumption versus higher cost.
One of the reasons for electricity theft is that middle class who due to meager resources could not bear to pay the many units consumed at a higher cost on slab to slab increase. The slabs of units consumed and electricity charges are (2015 slabs and rates):
There is strong basis for charging electricity consumption bill according to affordability of consumers (reasonable tariff for 300-500 units - this step will reduce electricity theft), incompetency of people because of resources can be noticed that even they had given no importance to a religious decree issued in 2009 prohibiting theft of electricity.
Anti-theft measures by Pakistan and K-Electric.
In 2014 President of Pakistan has issued an ordinance for defining strict punishments to electricity thieves across the country. The strategy and the action should be based upon a thorough understanding of the specific nature of the theft problem, while implementing the law against electricity thefts so as to technical loss due to pilferage and theft of electricity should not be dealt with combined.
K-Electric has introduced a latest technology which will remove “Kunda system and electricity theft”. Under this program Area Bundle Cable (ABC) System has already been installed in Kiamari area and entire city is to be covered with the new technology of ABC. The system makes it impossible to steal electricity and K-Electric can reduce transmission and distribution loss (T&D loss) remarkably as the ABC project will install special power cables and digital power tariff meters, which are kunda and tampering proof.