Sindh’s electricity bills: Ministry demands payment from divisible pool of taxes

Provinces owe Rs104 billion, of which Sindh has to pay Rs74 billion

ISLAMABAD:

As the outstanding electricity bills of Sindh reach Rs74 billion, the Ministry of Water and Power has requested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to direct the federal adjuster to deduct 25% of bills at source from the divisible pool of taxes for clearing some of the dues of the province.

In a presentation during a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy on February 16, the ministry informed the premier that electricity bills of provinces had gone over Rs104 billion.

“Of these, Sindh has the largest amount to pay as it owes Rs74.11 billion, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has to pay Rs20.47 billion, Punjab Rs4.9 billion and Balochistan Rs4.53 billion,” the ministry said.

Earlier, the ministry had powers to get the provincial power dues deducted at source but in 2013 the inter-provincial Council of Common Interests decided that only 25% of deduction would be allowed and that too after reconciliation of overdue bills.



“The federal adjuster may ask the Sindh government to pay 25% of the bills immediately and the remaining after 30 days, in case the province does not complete the reconciliation of figures,” the committee was told.

Arrears of electricity consumed by Punjab farmers also came up for discussion in the meeting. The water and power ministry put the dues, which were to be paid by the farmers, at more than Rs30 billion.

Earlier, the government had asked the ministry to slow down the process of recovering the outstanding bills from farmers until December 2015, but now the ministry fears that any further delay will turn the arrears into bad debts.

The Kisan Ittehad, a body of farmers established in 2012, collected donations from the agriculturists with a promise to help delay the payment of electricity bills, the meeting was told. The group launched an agitation, blocked roads and obstructed the process of cutting off power connections of defaulters.

The farmer body also damaged and set on fire properties of power distribution companies such as the Vehari and Chichawatni offices, vehicles and installations.

On several occasions, the farmers resorted to violence against the staff of distribution companies and they even killed an employee of the Multan Electric Power Company in Lodhran in October last year. They also damaged vehicles and power installations during the violence.

First Information Reports (FIRs) of these cases have already been registered with police.

The Ministry of Water and Power sought intervention and cooperation of the Punjab government and police in the recovery of electricity bills as promised last year. It asked for police escorts in sensitive areas and suggested that FIRs be registered and action taken according to the new laws.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2016.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.