Pakistan’s premier spy agency ISI and other government departments came under fire at a meeting of parliamentary panel for not paying electricity bills that have stalled the whole energy sector due to alarming receivables of Rs326 billion against the defaulters.
“The ISI is a rich organisation which has a lot of funds to form political parties but it is not paying power bills,” PML-N parliamentarian Abid Sher Ali said.
In a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Water and Power, which met on Wednesday with Syed Ghulam Mustafa in the chair, Sher said it was shocking that armed forces were also defaulters of Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) and they owe Rs1.64billion.
Profitable entities like National Highways Authority and National Bank of Pakistan were the defaulters of Pepco, he said, adding that “if a poor man fails to pay electricity bill for a month, then his electricity supply is disconnected immediately”.
He criticised the Distribution Companies (Discos) for not disconnecting the power supply to the defaulters of billions of rupees, including CDA, MNAs Lodges, and armed forces.
The secretary for the ministry of water and power also failed to respond to the question of overbilling of Rs54 billion by Discos.
The parliamentary panel noted with concern that the receivables of the power sector have swelled to a whopping Rs326 billion and directed Pepco to disconnect supply to consumers if they fail to meet a one-month deadline to pay their dues.
Managing Director of Pepco Rasul Khan Masud briefed the committee about the financial constraints in purchase of electricity. According to Masud, Pepco’s receivables stood at Rs326 billion which is equivalent to the total circular debt in the power sector.
He was of view that if the receivables were recovered from the defaulters, Pepco would be able to buy furnace oil and generate more power to reduce power outages.
Masud informed the committee that the receivables from the federal government amounted to Rs1.64billion, whereas non-payment of electricity bills by autonomous government organisations stood at Rs6.41billion.
Water and Power Secretary Imtiaz Qazi informed the committee that power generation companies have been facing financial constraints in purchase of furnace oil because they have to pay in advance for opening Letter of Comfort for oil imports.
However, Qazi suggested receiving electricity bills from the defaulters in instalments because, in his view, it would not be possible for many government departments to pay huge amounts in one go.
KESC Director Abdul Rauf informed the committee that his company has been managing the power shortfall by exercising 6-hour outages a day. According to Rauf, the KESC receivables from the defaulters amounted to Rs24billion, out of which the city district government owes Rs5billion and the city water board is a defaulter of Rs16 billion.
Rauf said that the electricity generation through furnace oil cost Rs18 per unit while power generated by gas costs only Rs6 per unit. He complained that the government has instructed the SSGC to supply minimum of 276 million metric cubic feet of gas to the KESC but the SSGC has been supplying only 120 mmcfd gas to the KESC, therefore KESC has to rely on furnace oil for electricity generation.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2011.
COMMENTS (27)
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Please pay your utility bills before dreaming about liberating Kashmir!
@Ammad:
In case you didn't know, they already do possess such entities. Ayesha Siddiqa wrote a whole book about it. Put their entities worth at 12 billion pounds in 2007, no doubt more now. And btw, thats a very stupid argument to make. If they don't want to pay their bills, then maybe they should build their own power stations, out of the exiting defense budget, as opposed to asking for even more money to not defend our borders, to cry about sovereignty, and build a few more DHAs.
Probably too busy still looking for OBL.
It just Shows that the army is also as corrupt as the politicians.
These departments can be made to pay by withholding the funds earmarked for them every year in the budget.
@ Yuri:Is it not in the Jurisdiction of article 6 to issue a bill to ISI.Mr.Nawaz Sharif to look into the matter.
ISI owns Pakistan and not the other way around. So on what basis are we the hapless citizens of this unfortunate country asking royalty (ISI, army) to pay their dues?
@Nasir:
Well said. Actually I am flattered by his absession with Pakistan. Let him feel proud of his precieved achievments. "chotay loog chotee chotee khusian".
In Malaysia small thing as road toll army and police have to pay they can get reimbursed from their department . Only king and prime minister is is exempted..Pakistan is rich country only poor will pay. In Malaysia No one even king is excepted for electricity bill. if you have no system you will stay poor period.
@Kulamarva Balakrishna: You are bound to reply every bit of the news related to Pakistan with idiotic replies.
They own the whole place!
This is idle posturing. Who is going to protect the Pepco MD, Rasul Khan Masud -- he doesn't want to end up like Saleem Shahzad.
Defaulters of power sector, biggest single land encroachment of Pakistan railways...guess who?
NATO kills 24 = Outrage
Defaulters causes thousands of slow painful death = Business as usual
@Straight Fire
Then they should not be allowed to develop and own commercial enterprises - especially ones competing not only with state owned business but also the private sector.
If, like what happens to a common man, electricity supply is cutoff for ISI, that will be the only way ISI will be without power.
Easy solution is for Finance Ministry to deduct 85% amount at source, for all government defaulters, leaving balance 15% to settle disputes in billing, but obviously a solution is not what is required.
laughable...
I am surprised that ISI is even issued bills
@Straight Fire: perhaps those countries are not Pakistan nor Afghanistan those countries are a lot rich and have a lot of resources. so stop being ignorant and pay your dues.
This is a clear CIA RAW Conspiracy!
Only common person have to suffer, not these Big Names like ISI, NBP, NHA and Parliament lodges.
Vienna,December 1,2011 If global super power can accumulate trillions and trillions of dollars payable abroad, why not the land of the pure Islamic super power, which leads almost three third of the world population internally accumulate payables? I think the national assembly will come on a consensus about this. Taravadu Taranga Trust for Media Monitoring TTTMM India --Kulamarva Balakrishna
Armed Forces and Intelligence agencies of every country must be expemted from paying any utility bills ...
Assalam-o-Allaikum Warahmatullah.Every department must has to pay its electricity bills within time and this is the totally injustice and inequality that if poor/common/middle class man doesn't pay electricity bill of one month then second month WAPDA officials send disconnection notice in bill and in case of non-payment disconnect poor/common/middle class man's electricity connection and the key departments of Pakistan are defaulters of billions of Rupees of WAPDA and enjoying uninterrupted electricity's supply.This prejudicial attitude of the government and WAPDA must be ended.This is why electricity thieving and power tariffs are increasing in Pakistan on monthly basis.
If these institutes don't pay, they just don't pay. It has been like that since eternity. What might be the real cause of power shortage?