KARACHI: Relief for electricity consumers announced: PM gets briefing on KESC
KARACHI, Dec 11: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Wednesday waived the 12-month electricity dues of less than Rs10,000 for those poor people who received Zakat from the government treasury.
He made this announcement in a relief package given by him during a briefing on the KESC in the KESC head office.
The prime minister also waived the dues outstanding for more than five years against agriculture consumers of the KESC because Karachi had not received rains for many years and as a result the sub-soil water level had gone down.
According to another relief announced by him, the KESC consumers who have not paid their electricity bills for the last 12 months and the arrears are less than Rs10,000 would get a 50 per cent waiver and pay the remaining amount in 10 instalments, provided they pay the current bill.
On the occasion, Mr Jamali also ordered the release of the first instalment of Rs1 billion to the KESC to begin its Rs13 billion revamping plan, PC-1 of which has already been approved by the government.—APP
KESC LOSS: Briefing newsmen, the KESC managing director, Brig Tariq Saddozai, said the 12-paisa tariff reduction announced by the government would result in a Rs748 million loss to the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, adds Our Staff Reporter.
Earlier, a KESC team briefed Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali on the power woes of the city at a presentation, also attended by information minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmed, water and power minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, Water and Power Development Authority chairman Zulfiqar Ali Khan, Sindh governor Mohammedmian Soomro, Karachi Nazim Naimatullah Khan and others.
Speaking to newsmen after the presentation, the KESC managing director said the prime minister had approved three facilitation packages which would go a long way towards helping those consumers who belonged to low-income groups.
Brig Saddozai said the prime minister had assured the KESC that the federal government and the provincial government, when formed, would help the power utility.
“The premier also stressed the need for enabling the KESC to meet the power shortage of the city. He was briefed that the PC-1 of the Hubco-KESC direct link had been prepared and that Wapda was looking for funds for the project.”
Speaking about the power utility’s sell-off, the managing director said the original deadline for privatization was September 2002, but it had been delayed now.
