Power supply to 278 govt offices will be cut: KESC
*Click the Title above to view complete article on https://www.nation.com.pk/.
KARACHI- The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC), as part of its recovery campaign in December, has embarked upon an aggressive plan to disconnect power supply to 278 government offices for non-payment of their outstanding bills while 22 such electricity connections have already been disconnected during first two days of the current week.
KESC Chief Operating Officer (Distribution) Jan Abbas Zaidi said this here on Wednesday. He said that the company in collaboration with the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) would take all possible measures to ensure uninterrupted power supply during Muharram. Abbas informed that gas supply had unexpectedly dropped as low as 90 MMCFD, as against the budgeted 140 MMCFD, resulting in a relatively less electricity generation during winter.
He said that all the government departments had been served notice for non-payment repeatedly but to no avail.
He said that these government offices had owed to KESC over Rs3 billion. The name of the government offices to which electricity supply has been disconnected are: Tughlaq House Sindh Secretariat, Department of Film; Sindh Agriculture Supplies Organisation, Auqaf, Building Division of PWD Sindh, Swedish Pakistan Institute Landhi, DC Office Quaidabad Landhi, Mukhtarkar office Malir Cantt, Pakistan Telegraph Korangi while an office of DHA in Phase-VIII and the office of Director Education (Colleges) in the Sindh Secretariat has also been disconnected power supply. Moreover, about 278 government connections will be disconnected in the next days if payment is not made, he stated.
Under the anti-theft and recovery drive in private sector, four FIRs have been registered in Region I. In the same region, a total of 495 cases of electricity theft were detected while 1,846 illegal connection were removed in Lyari, Kharadar, Usmanabad, Kalri and Moosa Lane areas. In Region II, the supply to NDFC office Alamgir Road Branch on Main Tariq Road was disconnected after finding it illegal. In this region, power supply to 3,645 consumers was disconnected on non-payment out of of
which 2,133 paid their dues in part or in full whose connection were later reconnected.
In Region III, notable among those disconnected included Pizza Expert Bahadurabad Branch where meter had been tempered with; Askari College Bahadurabad which was getting illegal supply; Noor Centre in Azeempura where 17 consumers had been found guilty of stealing electricity; Hunaid City where water pump had been disconnected for nonpayment; and, Noman Grand City project in Johar on the basis of dues on its water pump.
While negotiations were underway with the consumers, numbered about to 4,129 whose electricity disconnections had been disconnected in this region out of which 1,567 were restored later.
In Region-IV, about 1566 connections were disconnected out of which 853 were restored after payment. Notable among defaulters included Muhammad Yousuf of a pharmaceutical company whose meter had been found tempered and the premises had been receiving illegal electricity. Also, Khawaja Shamim Ahmed of Toor Baba Road in Sher Shah had been found to have tempered with the meter of his loom factory. FIRs had also been registered against M Mushtaq in Korangi on the basis of stealing electricity and Amjad Hussain of Bilal Colony was found to have tempered with the meter, he added.