Iesco issues Rs458,384 bill to domestic consumer

Rawalpindi
Believe or not but it was a fact that Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) has sent highly inflated electricity bill amounting Rs458,384 for the month of January, 2015 to a domestic consumer living in a four marla house of Muslim Town, Rawalpindi.
The concerned authority has directed the poor consumer, Muhammad Yousaf s/o Fazal Kareem House No B-IV/435 Muslim Town, Rawalpindi to deposit electricity bill till February 28, 2015 otherwise his electricity connection would be cut off. His bill for the month of February, 2015 also shows arrears of Rs 492913.
The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco)
Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Muslim Town Kishwar Hussain has directed consumer to
pay bill till the due date
otherwise his connection cut off.
On January 7, 2015 the Iesco meter reader, took the reading of Meter No (S-P0000006935), with a previous reading stood at 39334 units while the current reading showed 59484 units.
The concerned authority had delivered electricity bill to unfortunate consumer, Muhammad Yousaf, on February 14 in which last date of depositing bill was February 28, 2015. The Meter Reference No of consumer Muhammad Yousaf is 05143140894900.
When ‘The News’ contacted Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) (Complaint Cell), Rawalpindi In-Charge Nadeem Ahmed, he said that meter would be defected therefore it is showing extravagant reading. “The affected consumer should contact complaint centre for redressal of the matter immediately,” he assured. He also said that concerned SDO was not issuing bills, but it was a separate department which issues bills.
When ‘The News’ contacted Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) Muslim Town, Kishwar Hussain, he has also admitted that they had sent bill amounting Rs458,384 to a consumer.
The poor complainant Muhammad Yousaf son of Fazal Kareem told ‘The News’ that he is living in a three room home in Muslim Town for years. “The concerned authority has sent me an inflated electricity bill for a month, “how I could pay it,” he asked.
He said that he had visited SDO office again and again to address the matter but nobody takes him seriously.
It is not only, Muhammad Yousaf, but thousands of other consumers in twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad facing such kinds of dangerous mistakes of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco), but bosses are still seeing the whole drama with closed eyes. Even though, several bad
incidents appeared in which people became unconscious
or heart attack to see infla-
ted bills.