Financially disadvantaged people will pay less, others to be charged more in Karak. PHOTO: REUTERS
Choosing to see the glass half full, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company in Karak joined hands with district councillors and decided to charge consumers according to the size of their pockets.
Pesco Sub Divisional officer Nasrullah Khan Khattak, Gudi Khel district councillor Malik Aslam Khan and Takht-e-Nasrati Assistant Commissioner Muhammad Ishaq Wazir came to a decision this week to collect Rs500 a month from financially disadvantaged families with low consumption, Rs800 from a middle-income household and Rs1,000 per month from the wealthy. The main focus was on recovering dues owed by consumers getting power through the Gudi Khel Express feeder.
In the dark
Pesco cut off power supply to the area for over a year due to outstanding dues of a whopping Rs140 million.
“These consumers were notorious for defaulting and the massive amount owed by them forced Pesco’s hand,” Nasrullah told The Express Tribune.
The power utility’s officials and Karak district council, along with elders of Gudi Khel, decided village councillors would collect bills from each house and the accumulated money would be submitted at the subdivisional office.
“We need the recovery of the dues, while the locals need electricity,” the Pesco official said. “They will pay their bills and we will resume supply.” He said the issue had been longstanding, since 2013.
Pooling in
One of the elders submitted Rs700,000 to Takht-e-Nasrati subdivision as part of the dues owed by the people of Gudi Khel. Consequently, Pesco resumed supply to the feeder for some time as the elder assured he would collect bills and dues from each household. The man assured he would collect Rs500 and Rs1,000 from houses each month, depending on their income, and aid the recovery process. However, authorities had to cut off the power supply to the feeder again when he vanished into thin air and nobody was willing to pay their monthly bills.
“We supply some electricity to the feeder as eight to 10 water supply schemes are operational through it and pay their bills regularly. It is the general consumers who never bother,” added Nasrullah. “We also had to resume supply from time to time because we were receiving calls from high-ranking officials.”
A first for the new council
Now, as the new councillors and nazims have stepped in, the issue of the feeder was raised again. District Councillor Aslam Khan, along with local elders, took up the matter with the Pesco administration.
On Friday, officials and elected representatives agreed to mutual cooperation through which elected representatives from the village council would be responsible for collecting bills. In return, Pesco would supply electricity according to the load-shedding schedule set for Karak.
Nasrullah said there was no written agreement, but the elders and district administration found a solution. “We can’t sign on anything for fixed bills as there is no such provision in the rules and regulations.”
He said elders were asked to pay 30% of their total dues to resume power supply and this procedure would ensure the power utility gets Rs400,000 a month.
When asked about the development, Pesco Spokesperson Shaukat Afzal said the company has no knowledge of any such agreement. “If local officials of Pesco have made such an agreement to charge standardised rates for each meter; it is illegal.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2015.
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