KESC seeks bills payment at source: Balochistan share
By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Nov 9: The Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) has asked the federal government to make at source deduction of Rs63 million from Balochistan’s share to clear its outstanding dues.
Sources in the ministry of water and power told Dawn that KESC management has taken up at source deduction of Balochistan’s dues with the finance ministry. Sindh province is faced with at source deduction of Rs.3.7 billion to pay Wapda arrears.
KESC is currently incurring an average operating loss of Rs1.2 billion every month and is looking for all avenues to meet its day to day requirements.
Its annual loss is estimated to be around Rs15 billion this year and accumulated losses are projected to touch Rs80 billion by end of this fiscal.
The centre has however asked the KESC and provincial government to sit together as soon as possible to reconcile the bills before a final decision is taken.
KESC, taking cue from Wapda that has been paid Rs26 billion through at source deduction, had informed the finance division that Balochistan government did not clear its dues since the start of this year while KESC had to arrange commercial loans to meet its fuel and other immediate requirements.
Through the same mechanism of at source deduction, the finance ministry has paid Rs4 billion to Wapda on behalf of KESC for electricity sales as KESC was unable to make direct cash payments.
The finance ministry deducted Rs7.751 billion at source from the share of four provinces and Rs18.375 billion from the share of Azad Kashmir, FATA, Army, federal government agencies and KESC.
Among the provincial governments, Sindh faced the largest at source cut of Rs3.7 billion, followed by Punjab with Rs3.04 billion and then Rs510 million and Rs497 million with NWFP and Balochistan respectively.
Of the total Rs26 billion, the federal government made an at source deduction, from the federal government transfers, of Rs5.040 billion to FATA, followed by Agricultural Tubewells from centre’s share at Rs4.5 billion, Azad Kashmir Rs4.114 and KESC Rs4 billion.
