Provinces owe Rs161b for electricity charges

A Senate panel was told on Friday that the provincial governments have not yet paid a total of Rs161 billion that they owe to the federal government for electricity charges.

The Senate Standing Committee on Power convened on Friday to discuss key issues including adjustments of provincial power dues through the National Finance Commission (NFC) and the privatisation of power distribution companies (DISCOs).

During the meeting, the committee chairman, Senator Mohsin Aziz, said that the provinces claim that the federal government has not cleared pending dues.

The Power Division officials stated that the provincial governments had not paid a total of Rs161 billion. Punjab owes the federal government Rs42 billion; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Rs10 billion; Sindh, Rs68 billion and Balochistan, Rs42 billion.

The officials clarified that the amount is for power supplied to provincial departments, while federal dues may relate to hydel power adjustments.

Minister for Power Awais Leghari said the matter was discussed with the Finance Ministry recently and that he has written to all provincial chief ministers for settlement of dues.

Leghari informed the committee that following the reconstitution of DISCOS' boards, losses have been reduced by Rs140 billion as of March, adding that the government has assured the IMF of its commitment to privatise the DISCOs.

"The government's role is not to run power distribution companies. The goal is to privatise all DISCOs within the next three years. In the first phase, three DISCOs will be privatised. A financial advisor is already working on the process and has submitted a due diligence report," he said.

Leghari expressed confidence that the privatisation of the three companies will be completed within the next six months, although the committee chair noted it may be by June next year.