May 6, 2005	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 26, 1426

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QUETTA, May 5: The Quetta Electric Supply Company (Qesco) is facing a financial crisis due to non-payment of dues by government departments and private consumers. In a statement issued here on Friday, a Qesco spokesman announced that electricity of defaulters would not be restored until dues were cleared by them. He added that a sum of Rs5790 million was in arrears till March 2005 against the province’s consumers.

Giving a breakdown of electricity dues against consumers, the spokesman said that Rs649 million were outstanding against provincial government departments, Rs2722 million against growers owning tube-wells (including the government subsidy) while the remaining dues of Rs2419 were against industrial, commercial and domestic consumers.

The statement said that the Qesco authorities had held frequent meetings with the representatives of consumers requesting them to deposit dues as the institution was confronted with grave financial crisis but due to the negative response it received Qesco decided to suspend power supply to consumers till they cleared their arrears.