Stop free electricity to WAPDA employees: Senate body

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power on Tuesday recommended the government to stop providing free electricity to the employees of WAPDA and all power supply companies as the facility was being misused.

The committee met with Zahid Khan in the chair and was attended by Senators Muhammad Nisar and Khalida Perveen, Secretary Water and Power Zafar Mehmood and Chief Energy Management Cell Tahir Basharat Cheema.

The committee recommended that the facility should be monetized and the employees should pay the bills from their own as they have been found misusing the facility.

Tahir Basharat Cheema apprised the committee that the facility puts no burden on ordinary consumers as the bill is paid by the office concerned. However, the employee is to pay Neelum Jhelum surcharge, TV charges and the charges against electricity consumed more than the allocated quota, he added.

He said during last fiscal year the employees have consumed366 million units costing Rs2.95 billion.

Secretary Water and Power Zafar Mehmood said the ministry was taking on the power pilferers as well as defaulters of bills because the gap between the electricity sold to the companies and recovered amount was widening.

Zahid Khan said the government should allocate a specific amount for the above said officials under the head of electricity charges, recommending the ministry to work out a solution.

Cheema said around 23 percent employees did not fully consume the allocated quota of electricity units and that monetization would benefit them, adding 33 percent employees consume more than that their quota.

He said the facility was provided to serving, retired employee sand widows. However the employees of the ministry do not get the facility, he added.

Chief Executive Pesco Brig (retd) Tariq Sadozai said in his region, around 0.7 million consumers were disconnected in documents but they had been using the electricity illegally.

He apprised the body that the recovery ratio of electricity billsin 170 out of total 700 feeders was 10 percent.

In response, the committee suggested to involve the notables and politicians of the area to persuade people to pay bills. (APP)