Pesco cracks down on govt defaulters over Rs2.8bn dues

PESHAWAR: In a bold move to recover long-pending electricity dues amounting to over Rs2.8 billion, the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) has launched a decisive campaign targeting defaulting government and semi-government departments across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The initiative, spearheaded by Pesco Chief Executive Officer Akhtar Hamid Khan, aims to address the alarming backlog of unpaid bills that has strained the company’s financial stability.

An official of Pesco confirmed that formal notices have been served on all the major defaulters instructing them to clear their outstanding liabilities without further delay. The defaulters have been given a final warning to pay now or face strict punitive action. The utility company has warned that in case of non-compliance, it will resort to heavy fines and disconnection of electricity supply to the departments concerned.

Meanwhile, Pesco has achieved a noticeable reduction in transmission and distribution (T&D) losses — bringing the figure down to 34.73 percent in the current fiscal year from 36.02 percent in the previous year. Simultaneously, revenue collection surged to an impressive 88.73 percent, reflecting enhanced operational efficiency and consumer compliance thus improving financial health of the company.

According to the data, the dues amount to billions of rupees and involve a wide range of public sector bodies. The defaulters and their outstanding amounts include Water and Sanitation Services, Peshawar, (WSSP) Rs336 million, government primary schools Rs542 million, and government higher secondary schools and colleges Rs157 million. Similarly, the government middle schools Rs93 million, Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) Rs110 million, Kohat Development Authority (KDA) Rs96 million and Health Department Rs134 million.

Likewise, Town Municipal Administration (TMA) Town-1 Peshawar Street Lighting Rs293 million, Water and Sanitation Services Company (WSSC) Kohat Rs170 million, Auqaf Department Rs40 million, Jail Department Rs34 million and Environment Department Provincial Secretariat Rs329 million.

However, federal Ministry of Railways also have dues of Rs312 million, National Highway Authority (NHA) Rs874 million, Income Tax Department Rs873 million, Pakistan Post Office Rs458 million, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited Rs147 million and University of Peshawar Rs460 million.