PESHAWAR: State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali Thursday said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would announce an incentive package for the defaulters of the power sector in a bid to recover Rs360 billion of the power distribution companies outstanding against the provinces, a minister said Thursday. Speaking at a press conference at the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) House here, he said he had brought the relief package as a goodwill and solidarity gift to the people of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the prime minster. However, Abid Sher Ali said that details of the ‘Prime Minister’s Relief Package’ for the power sector defaulters would be made public in two to three days by the prime minister himself.The minister added that the package would be initiated with immediate effect that would be valid till March 31. Giving details of the briefing given to him earlier by the officials of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco), Abid Sher Ali said he was informed that only two of the six regions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — Swat and Hazara — were paying power charges. The other four regions, he added, were not only defaulting on the companies bills but also in some of them the losses were above 90 percent which were unbearable. The relief package has been worked out on the directives of the prime minister to help boost recovery from domestic consumers across the country.The package will enable the consumers to avail certain waivers on the total outstanding amount of the Pesco dues. The minister said that as a whole the Pesco receivables in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have swollen up to Rs60 billion. In a vague reference to the agitation of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, he said the leadership of the province should focus on the payment of dues instead of rallies and public gatherings to pull the power sector out of the trying situation. The state minister said receivables of Rs.52billion to Rs.56billion had been outstanding against the domestic consumers for the last two year in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “The provincial government owes Rs.20billion to the Pesco. Besides Pesco suffered Rs.5billion losses on running feeders in the province,” he added. Abid Sher Ali said losses on around 121 feeders in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were almost 90 percent. Some 50,000 meters are defective in soft areas of the province which would be replaced within one month time, he added. About the steadily increasing losses and receivables of the power distribution companies and power sector of the government, Abid Sher Ali maintained that Rs.360billion were outstanding against the provincial governments. He said the government of Sindh was to pay the Rs 69billion, while company in Karachi will have to pay Rs 32billion dues to the Ministry of Water and Power. About Rs 110billion outstanding dues against the tube-wells of the government of Balochistan, he said the prime minister had already formed a committee. The chief minister of Balochistan will also attend the meeting of the committee to take up the package worked out for the recovery of the amount outstanding against the tube-wells in Balochistan. Abid Sher Ali said his ministry had to pay Rs298 billion to Independent Power Producers and Pakistan State Oil and some other entities for which recovery of the stuck-up dues was inevitable.
