Unpaid dues: People owe HESCO Rs9 billion in bills

Govt departments are among the biggest defaulters, says a statement.

HYDERABAD:

Private consumers owe the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) Rs9.84 billion in unpaid bills, of which Rs1.8 billion is due from consumers whose connections have been cut off.

In a press statement issued on Friday, HESCP said that the departments of the Sindh government are the biggest defaulters and their cumulative arrears come to the tune of around Rs38.15 billion.

HESCO CEO Muzaffar Ali Abbasi has directed the recovery teams to expedite the process, even if it means cutting off the power connections. Only a few days back, Hesco suspended power to the city’s biggest filtration plant, which supplies water to the city and Qasimabad tehsils along with several sewage pumping stations. It was restored after four to five hours, after influential people intervened. But the disconnection caused a water shortage and drainage problems in several areas.

In December 2010, the Sindh High Court passed an interim order directing the defaulting departments of the Sindh government to start paying their current bills. However, Hesco maintains that the bills continue to be unpaid. “Another Rs14.59 billion has been added to the current bills of these departments after the court’s orders,” the statement says.

The biggest defaulters, according to Hesco, are the Hyderabad Development Authority (HDA) and the Sindh Irrigation and Drainage Authority (SIDA), which owe Rs1.102 billion and Rs1.130 billion, respectively. They are followed by the Public Health Department, with dues of Rs732 million, the police department with Rs700 million and the department of Irrigation and Power with Rs513 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 4^th, 2011.