Orders were also issued for the disconnection of electric supply to the head offices of National Database and Registration Authority, Capital Development Authority, Frontier Works Organisation, environmental directorate, Motorway Police, Pakistan Public Works Department, and TMO, Rawalpindi.
Addressing a press conference, the State Minister for Water and Power said that the campaign against electricity defaulters and power thieves had been begun on the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and action would be taken against those usurping the rights of the people.
Giving details of the dues owed to the Iesco, Abid Sher said that the Prime Minister’s Office owed Rs6.2 million in dues whereas the residence of the Chief Justice of Pakistan owed a bill of Rs1.1 million.
He further said that the CDA owed Rs360 million while the Parliament Lodges owed Rs200 million to the Iesco.
Various public and private sector departments owed more than Rs3 billion to the Iesco, and the electricity supply company had been sending notices to these departments for some time over non-payment of dues.
Owing to the dues, the Iesco on Monday disconnected the supply of electricity of around 100 buildings and departments for non-payment.
Virtually all government departments at both the central and provincial levels have contributed towards bankrupting the power sector.
The State Minister for Water and Power said that in the public sector the Sindh government was a defaulter of Rs56 billion 5,000 connections, which the provincial government had failed to acknowledge, were disconnected in the Sindh.
He said electricity theft amounting to Rs70 billion had taken place in Balochistan where 16,000 illegal tube well connections existed. He said that the campaign was not against any province or an individual rather it was against the power thefts and defaulters.. Abid said that some feeders have 80-90 per cent power theft and 20-22 hours power load-shedding was being carried out on such feeders.
He said Nazir Feeder of Sukkur Electric Supply Company has 91 per cent line losses. Only 70 consumers out of total 998 were paying their bills. The losses of the said feeder were recorded as Rs.445 million, he said. The minister said that total outstanding liabilities against the Sindh government was Rs.56 billion. Similarly the Punjab government has also Rs.3.4 billion, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan each Rs. 2.5 billion liabilities, he added.
He said that one month target was given to all power distribution companies for collecting receivable and controlling power theft on the directives of Prime Minister. To a question, Abid Sher Ali said that 2800-3000 MW electricity was added to the national grid system during last one year adding that additional 1750 MW was added in the system owing to paying all circular debt.
He said that the ministry of water and power has forwarded various recommendations including closure of markets at 8 O’ clock to the Prime Minister which would help save 1000 MW electricity at peak hours. To another query, the minister said that as many as 1144 consumers were detected in ISECO region who were misusing tariff and their connections were converted to commercial.
The Minister said that the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government also owed Rs.33 billion.
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