Rawalpindi reportedly paid IESCO Rs130m more for inflated bills

Govt to offer free washroom facilities at Pir Wadhai bus terminal

RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi municipal corporation may have been paying the power utility an additional Rs130 million per year owing to overbilling and inflated load management figures.

This was disclosed after the Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation (RMC) conducted load management of three of the 14 sub-divisions of the city.

As part of its load management survey, the RMC found that after undertaking power efficiency and load management measures, they were only using only 258 kilowatts (kW) of power in F-block. This was opposed to the 354kW which Islamabad Electric Supply Corporation (IESCO) — which also supplies power to Rawalpindi — said they were using in the area.



It was a similar tale for the Bhabara subdivision where RMC found that they only used 44 kWs for street lights as opposed to the IESCO figures of 110 kWs.

In Chandni Chowk subdivision, their power load had fallen to 175 kWs from 344 kWs. Cumulatively, the RMC was saving 304 kWs of power for street lights in the three subdivisions. If properly managed and recalculated, the RMC could save some Rs10.1 million per month and Rs130 million per year.

To ascertain the true picture, the RMC and IESCO have agreed to bring a private firm on board as a third party to conduct an independent and transparent load management audit and determine if consumption figures, and hence power bills are inflated or not.

Free toilets

The Punjab government has decided to provide free public toilet facility to citizens by eliminating fees for using washrooms at the General Bus Stand of Pir Wadhai.

The RM also approved this initiative in its recent meeting.

The decision to provide free toilet services will now be notified in the gazette after the approval from the local government and city district departments.

Further, some 12 sanitary workers will be hired from the waste management department to ensure the washrooms remain clean and stocked. In the ongoing fiscal year, the Pir Wadhai General Bus Stand has generated around Rs3.4 million despite the fact that three of its terminals remain closed.



In the last fiscal year, the bus stand had generated revenues of around Rs9 million.

Similarly, the MC has decided to implement the orders of the Supreme Court (SC) by removing the large signboards installed in front of its office. The RMC used to earn Rs0.95 million from these boards.

The RMC has also approved the recommendation to end the rent contract while it has also issued directions for the removal of hoarding boards installed at various places in the city.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, March 4^th, 2019.