The Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) has decided to replace free electricity units provided to its employees with monthly cash allowances linked to their respective pay grades.
The decision follows approval from the PESCO Board of Directors, which has endorsed the monetisation of electricity benefits for company employees.
Under the new arrangement, eligible staff members will no longer receive free electricity units as an employment benefit. Instead, they will receive a fixed monthly cash allowance based on their salary or pay grade.
The move represents a change in how employee electricity benefits are provided within PESCO. Rather than supplying power without direct payment, the company will convert the benefit into a monetary allowance.
The monetisation policy is expected to create a more clearly defined financial structure for employee benefits. It also separates electricity consumption from the employment benefit previously provided through free power units.
Employees will receive allowances according to their designated pay grades, meaning the amount of financial support will depend on their position within the company’s salary structure.
The decision is significant because electricity-related employee benefits have long been part of the broader discussion surrounding Pakistan’s power sector. Converting such benefits into cash can provide greater transparency in calculating and accounting for employee-related expenses.
For employees, the new system will change how they receive the benefit but will provide a monthly monetary payment instead of free electricity units.
The move also comes as Pakistan’s power sector continues to face pressure over electricity costs, financial losses and the need to improve efficiency across distribution companies.
PESCO is responsible for electricity distribution across several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Decisions affecting its employees can therefore attract attention because of the company’s role in the country’s wider electricity distribution system.
The Board of Directors’ approval means the monetisation of power benefits has formally received the company’s backing. Further implementation details, including the specific allowance amounts for individual pay grades, will determine the financial impact of the policy on employees.
The shift from free electricity to cash allowances could also make employee benefits easier to quantify within the company’s financial records. Instead of calculating benefits according to actual electricity consumption, the company can account for predetermined monetary allowances.
For PESCO workers, the key difference will be the form in which the benefit is provided. Eligible employees will receive cash according to their pay grades rather than free electricity units.
The decision is part of a broader trend toward reviewing and restructuring benefits within Pakistan’s public-sector and state-linked organizations.
As the new policy is implemented, employees and stakeholders will be watching how the cash allowance system affects household electricity expenses and the company’s overall financial management.
The PESCO decision marks a notable change in employee benefit policy and could also contribute to wider discussions about the treatment of electricity-related benefits across Pakistan’s power distribution companies.
