ISLAMABAD - AHMAD AHMADANI - ‘Determined’ to ‘thwart’ Nepra’s ‘deadly attack’, mighty bigwigs at the KESC have terminated Deputy General Manager (DGM) Distribution & Finance Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui from the service, only to save their ugly thick skins, it has been reliably learnt.
The ever-awakened quarters in power sector divulged that following the serious notice taken by Consumer Affair Division of National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on the other day against the secret plan of Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) pertaining over billing to pressed consumers in monthly bills, the top management of the company has landed in the sleepless nights. The restless baboos earlier kept ‘wandering’ from ‘pillar to post’ in the bewilderness of devotion to hatch a conspiratorial design to save their sheep-like thick skins and have finally arrived at a solution.
The KESC corrupt lot has now resolved to get rid of the DGM (Distribution & Finance) of the company. “The top management of the KESC in a bid to reduce the heat emerged after the disclosure of million rupees worth scam of fleecing the masses in general has now sent the DGM on packing. Though the DGM had e mailed this secret plan over the sweet will of company’s top baboos yet the unbridled management of the KESC had made him a scapegoat, well-placed sources said on Thursday.
Earlier, after the disclosure of this million rupees worth scam, the KESC management suspended its DGM (Distribution & Finance) Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui under the charge leakage of e-mails informing secret plan of over billing to the consumers and formed an eight-member committee to probe the matter.
A notice had been issued from Consumer Affair Division of the regulator after finding response from the company and the Nepra would take final decision in this regard as it had also sought a written response from the company within fourteen days.  Practice of additional, average and detection billing is altogether contrary to the Nepra Act, sources privy to development further said on Tuesday, adding, that this outrageous increase in power units under the said plan could cast a huge impact on the consumers’ bills, if this plan implemented. 
Available copy of the secret plan with TheNation reveals that the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) had allegedly plotted to gobble millions of hard earned rupees of the consumers by fleecing them through monthly electricity bills of September. The direction of over billing of 80 lakh power units to pressed consumers in monthly bills was given and to avoid leakages about the said secret plan of over billing to the consumers, the KESC had brought all the ‘G Sheet’ (sheet of meter readings) from the business centres to its head office.
Deputy General Manager (DGM) Distribution & Finance Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui sent the plan to 17 officials through e-mails and directed them to not leave it on the computer operators.
The concerned officials were advised to impose 80 lakh extra units on consumers in bills of September. The DGM had also directed the GMs to increase 10 to 15 units of electricity of all consumers being billed on normal mode and further increase 50 units straight for all consumers that were billed on assessed and average mode last month. It was also directed to make it done irrespective of anything.
The influential KESC spokesman when contacted to get the knowledge about the termination of Deputy General Manager (DGM) Distribution & Finance Muhammad Shoaib Siddiqui and findings of inquiry committee but to no avail as no response till the filing of this story was given despite many attempts and all remained in vain.
It is worth mentioning here that daily The Nation had published this scam of looting emptied pockets of hard-pressed consumers already bearing heavy brunt of high prices of per unit of electricity on October 4th, 2012.