Punjab Power Department has ordered Inspecting Officers (IOs) to assess and verify the details of Electricity Duty (ED) of sugar mills in Punjab from July 2001 onward. The Electric Inspectors (EI) have also been directed to test check the work of IOs and submit a comprehensive report in the office of Chief Engineer (Power).
Punjab Minister for Power Chaudhry Armaghan Subhani disclosed this in a meeting held in his office here on Friday. Chief Engineer (Power), Muhammad Yaqoob and other high-ranking officers were present in the meeting. The minister said that payment of electricity duty is obligatory for all electricity consumers and non-compliance of it, can lead to the one of the major causes of loadshedding.
He said that the purpose of test checks was to monitor the assessment and realisation work of IOs in an effective and meaningful manner. Highlighting the assessment he said that this test check was actually a sort of double check, aimed at minimising consumer's loss in the cases of undue penalty bills and providing them a sigh of relief.
On the occasion he directed IOs to fully utilise their potential in discharging their duties which included meters' testing, factories' inspecting if needed, resolving billing disputes, checking of generators and electricity duty assessment etc.
While disclosing the hierarchy of the departmental set up, the minister said that the department had five Electric Inspectors in five regions throughout the province that include Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Islamabad which have further set up of divisional and district levels.
The minister was told that Islamabad region was missing to submit the recovery details of ED for the period from 2002-03 to 2005-06 on the prescribed format, upon which he directed the Chief Engineer to look into the matter and made the concerned EI to submit his compliance report shortly.