The Parliament House plunged into darkness after IESCO disconnected its electricity connection for non-payment of dues. PHOTO: ONLINE
IESCO had served notices to various public and private departments over the non-payment of dues amounting to Rs3 billion. However, due to non-payment, the power utility on Monday began to cut off supply to 100 top government buildings, including the President House, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Parliament Lodges, official residence of chief justice of Pakistan, and Sindh and Balochistan House.
The step was taken on the directives of Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali who told a news conference on Tuesday that his ministry has launched a crackdown against defaulters on the orders of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
The minister also issued orders to disconnect electricity supply to the head offices of the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), Capital Development Authority (CDA), Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), Environmental Directorate, Punjab Jail, Motorway Police, Pakistan Public Works Department, and the office of TMO Rawalpindi.
According to a breakdown of dues owed by different institutions, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat is to pay Rs6.2 million, residence of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Rs1.1 million; CDA, Rs360 million, and Rs200 million is outstanding against the Parliament Lodges.
Sher Ali said that in the public sector, the Sindh government has defaulted on a power bill amounting to Rs56 billion, while 5,000 connections have been disconnected which the provincial administration refused to own. He said electricity theft amounting to Rs70billion has been reported in Balochistan where 16,000 illegal tube-wells are operating. Similarly, Azad Kashmir owes Rs33 billion in power dues.
Sher Ali said that power supply to all institutions as well as individual consumers who had not paid their bills would be cut off. “The water and power ministry will not allow anyone to steal electricity,” he added.
The minister said that he had told the prime minister that if markets were closed around 8pm, then 1,000 megawatts of electricity could be saved.
The spokesman of IESCO confirmed that the company has disconnected power supply to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, President House and several other institutions which the state minister had given immediate orders for. He maintained that defaulters were depositing cheques to clear dues and that power supply would be restored after bills and dues were paid.
Meanwhile, regarding the electricity disconnection of the SC building by IESCO, the PWD on behalf of the Supreme Court said in a statement that all the electricity dues of SC building, Chief Justice House and all judges residences have been paid to IESCO up to April 2014.
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