Key provincial departments defaulters of Mepco

MULTAN: The key provincial departments are defaulters of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco), The News has learnt.

Statistics and available documents said these departments had consumed their allocated budgets for the current year leaving a defaulted amount worth Rs 12 billion in their electricity bills owed to Mepco. The citizens said that the Mepco had registered scores of FIRs against domestic and commercial consumers for the recovery of defaulted amount but the company could not lodge a single FIR against a public service department.

The biggest defaulters of eth Mepco include Wasa Multan, responsible for sewerage and drinking water bills recoveries, owes Rs 3.8 billion to Mepco. The Wasa frequently shutdown sewage lines to create emergencies and restore electricity after disconnections. Due to the unchecked use of electricity in TMA offices, their outstanding bill had reached Rs 5.22 billion.

Sources revealed that outstanding dues on electricity bills from various provincial departments had accumulated to Rs 12 billion. The departments such as Highways, Police, Prisons, Health, Parks, Irrigation, Small Industries, Wasa, City District Government and TMAs, were extensively misusing electricity, flouting Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz’s policies.

The failure to pay bills on time has also overburdened the government treasury with an additional 10pc Late Payment Surcharge (LPS).Available statistics said that due to non-release of allocated electricity bill funds in the 2024-25 budget, government offices were frequently facing power disconnections and defaulting departments were unable to pay their heavy bills.

The Punjab Highways Department was defaulter of Rs 8.4 million, Police Rs 394.2 million, Prisons Rs 49.8 million, Punjab Health Department Rs 19 million, Punjab Health Engineering Rs 208.1 million, Slim Zone Rs 1.12 billion, Irrigation Rs 36.4 million, Punjab Small Industries Rs 197.5 million, Wasa Multan Rs 3.8 billion, City District Government Rs 503.6 million and TMAs Rs. 5.2225 billion.

The insiders in the departments said that only two months were left before the current fiscal year ends and even after 10 months, the defaulting departments had failed to secure the release of funds from their respective provincial ministries.

When contacted, the officials of defaulted departments said they were making efforts to manage the defaulted amount and soon the payments were expected to pay to the Mepco.The Wasa officials said the agency was already under financial crunch as many consumers were unable to pay their water and sewerage bills. The current recoveries were unlikely to fulfill the salary budget, they added.

Senior officials as well as administration at defaulted departments said that the departments sometime receive insufficient or delayed budget allocations from the provincial or federal governments, making it hard to settle utility bills on time.

The officials observed that some public offices operate under the belief that their electricity would not be cut off because they were government bodies.The Mepco as a distribution company often hesitate to take strict action like disconnecting power to essential government offices like hospitals, police stations etc due to public service obligations or political pressure, officials at the defaulted departments added.