3,000 KESC consumers not paying monthly bills

The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) is not receiving the payment of monthly electricity bills from its 3,000 residential and commercial consumers. According to a report of KESC obtained by Business Recorder on Monday, these consumers were not paying their monthly electricity bills to the company as they have filed complaints of being overcharged by the utility.
"Such 3,000 complaints of overcharging electricity bills are under-consideration of KESC's Business Operations Department and their electricity bills are being reviewed", an official said. The official said that the complainants were not paying their monthly electricity bills on due dates and maintained that the practice would be resumed only when their complaints are decided.
Sources also revealed that many of these complaints were lying undecided at the department since last many months. While few of them were years old and waiting for the attention of Business Operations Department's officials.
Due to negligence towards the resolution of these complaints, the KESC is facing shortfall of millions of rupees in its monthly bills' collection, sources claimed adding that the overall deficit of the company is growing with every passing month due to the delay in the process.
Sources maintained that various consumers, mostly of industrial and commercial categories, have challenged the amount of bills/dues pending against them in different courts claiming of overcharging by the company, owing to which the huge amount has seized due to the legal proceedings in apex courts. The amount of such KESC receivables, seized due to the legal proceedings is estimated over Rs 600 million, sources claimed.
When contacted, an official of KESC's recovery department requesting anonymity told Business Recorder that the department is unable to take any action against these non-payers of monthly bills as they are, what he said, justified in their stance.
He maintained that his department could do nothing against complainants of overcharged electricity bills till the Business Operations Department resolves their cases. It is worth mentioning here that around Rs 30 billion KESC dues are outstanding against its small and large private-sector consumers. The KESC consumers, including residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural have to pay a bulk amount of dues to the corporation on account of monthly electricity bills, sources added.