Outstanding dues: K-Electric resolves to disconnect power supply to police

KARACHI:

Sindh police have been served the final notice to pay their outstanding electricity bills otherwise power supply will be disconnected.

Karachi Electric (KE) sent the final notice to the Sindh police to pay Rs1.27 billion within two days. "The amount has been accumulated as outstanding dues up to the month of April but officials in the police department are not lending an ear to our notices," said the KE spokesperson.

KE had sent a letter to the Sindh IG on May 19, asking the department clear the dues within seven days but to no avail, he said. Now, the KE has given two more days to the police to clear out the dues, otherwise, all major connections of the Sindh police will be disconnected under Section 24(1) of the Electricity Act, 1910.

"KE is not a charitable organisation and cannot provide electricity for free," he said. "These dues have been mounting up for a while and the Sindh police are only paying a small portion and that too irregularly."

Despite several attempts, the Sindh police spokesperson could not be contacted for details. Earlier, the chief minister had said that the power and water utilities have stated exorbitant amounts in their bills, which the government does not accept. He plans to raise this issue at the upcoming meeting of the Council of Common Interests, which was scheduled for Monday but had to be postponed as the prime minister left for India. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2014.