Iesco mismanagement adds to consumers woes

Rawalpindi
Due to mismanagement of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) residents of different localities are facing problems and have expressed concern over delayed distribution of electricity bills, dissemination of wrong bills with wrong reference number besides overbilling. They have demanded of Federal Minister for Water and Power to take notice of this serious matter.
Majority of residents living at Adiala Road, Tariqabad, Defense Road, Dhoke Juma, Bakramandi, Sher Zaman Colony, Mubarak Lane, Tulsa Road, Tahli Morri and several other localities have received manual (non computerized) electricity bills. Hundreds of consumers have complained of receiving bills carrying wrong reference numbers.
The residents of affected areas talking to ‘The News’ complained that last month electricity bills were circulated after due date and they were forced to pay late payment surcharge which amounts to millions of rupees. Moreover, bills of the current month were not distributed on time causing troubles to poor consumers once again.
“Electricity bills should be distributed 10 days before due date,” Riaz Ahmed, a resident of Adiala Road said adding that last date of some batches was September 21 but some consumers have not received their bills so far.
Shahzad Ahmed a resident of Defense Road said that he did not send him electricity bill with right reference number for the last of 13 months. “The concerned officials promised me that the fault will be corrected but so far nothing has been done,” he said. “I fear that Iesco would send me electricity bill amount of thousands of rupees one day and nobody would take notice of Iesco’s mistake,” he denounced.
The sources said that protest in computer section last month and Wapda employees’ union protest during last few days forced consumers to pay their bills with surcharges. The Ministry of Water and Power has given target of recoveries worth Rs52 billion to Iesco and other companies while burden was being put on general public.
They questioned that on what performance bonus was given to Iesco employees as they have failed to ensure timely distribution of bills and numberless other mistakes. The consumers demanded newly appointed federal minister for Water and Power to take notice of the situation and order timely distribution of electricity bills with proper reference numbers.
When ‘The News’ contacted Islamabad Electricity Supply Company (Iesco) Billing Distribution Officer (BDO) Sajid Mehmood he admitted that majority of reference numbers given in bills were not correct therefore consumers were facing difficulties. He also admitted that they were sending manual bills to consumers due to wrong reference numbers. He said that they are trying to revise all system of billing to reduce consumers’ problems.