The News reported that Pakistan's all nine government owned power distribution companies (DISCOs) have signed an agreement with the United States to collaborate on improving energy supply to consumers, a statement said.

Under this program, the United States will help DISCOs generate more revenue to pay for energy production, reduce losses in power distribution from the producer to the consumer and make the power supply more reliable.

Mr John Morgan director of the United States Agency for International Development Energy Office said that by improving the collection of energy bills, DISCOs will have more money to pay for power generation, thus, reducing load shedding in the country.

He added that "Similarly, reduced losses will translate into more reliable power supply and a fewer unscheduled outages."

Under the signed collaboration agreements, a USAID USD 60 million power distribution program will train thousands of DISCO specialists to improve the maintenance of the distribution lines, collection of bills, customer services, management and other aspects of DISCO operations.

USAID will also help DISCOs modernize equipment, provide expert consultations and support the introduction of various international best practices to ensure a more reliable power supply to the consumers.

In addition to improved energy distribution, USAID is also helping the government of Pakistan restore and increase its energy production capacity and to introduce long term energy sector reforms.

(Sourced from www.thenews.com.pk)