Punjab Govt departments among major defaulters on power bills

Several town/tehsil municipal administrations (TMAs), Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) and the Irrigation Department top the chronic Government defaulters list compiled by the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco).

The TMAs of Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Nankana Sahib and Sheikhupura collectively owe Rs.7.192 billion, according to a Lesco spokesman. Wasa Lahore owes Rs.2.297 billion, followed by the Punjab Irrigation Department with Rs713 million.

Other defaulters include the Punjab Police Department (Rs.496 million), District Government of Lahore (Rs.495 million), Pakistan Railways (Rs.409 million), Kasur district government (Rs.381 million), Parks and Horticulture Authority (Rs.253 million), Punjab Prisons Department (Rs.243 million), Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (Rs.238 million), Lahore Ring Road Authority (Rs.231 million), Lahore Development Authority (LDA) (Rs.205 million), PWD (Rs.103 million), Geological Survey of Pakistan (Rs.71 million) and Cabinet Secretariat (Rs.41 million).

The power division has written to four Provincial Governments, urging them to pay electricity bills amounting to Rs.150 billion to avoid power cuts and financial losses to the national economy. It warned that limited resources with distribution companies (Discos) make uninterrupted supply difficult, exacerbating circular debt. Punjab-based Discos have receivables of Rs38.01 billion against provincial Government departments. Lesco is the most affected with receivables worth Rs.17.27 billion as of September, followed by Rs.9.90 billion for Multan Electric Power Company. Faisalabad, Islamabad, and Gujranwala Discos also have significant outstanding dues of Rs.5.05 billion, Rs.2.93 billion, and Rs.2.84 billion, respectively. (Dawn)

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