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Sindh govt defaulter of billions in power bills, says minister

Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali says provincial government is not helping to curb power pilferage

Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali has said Sindh government is a defaulter of billions of rupees to K-Electric, formerly known as the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC)

He said Wapda Karachi can not disconnect electricity supply to any provincial department due to non-payment of bills. The power supply was, however, disconnected to the departments which default on payment of bills to Wapda in Punjab. He said Wapda has recovered billion of rupees in Punjab from the defaulter government departments in Punjab.

He said that Sindh government is not extending any cooperation to Wapda Karachi in curbing power pilferage. The K-Electric, however, is supplying electricity to the departments in Sindh which are defaulters.

He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif inaugurated the coal-based power generation project in Thar at Sindh and former president Asif Ali Zardari had not only thanked the PM but also hailed the steps taken by federal government for extending financial assistance to Sindh government. “Had the PPP-led government started even a single power generation project during its tenure, the people would not have faced the electricity crisis at present,” Abid lamented.

He went on to say that the incumbent government had launched power generation projects and which would yield positive results.

He stated that a sum of Rs500 billion is being spent on construction of Dasu Hydropower Project. “It will not only augment electricity production but will also generate employment opportunities for the local population of Kohistan in particular and people from the suburbs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in general,” he added.