FAISALABAD: The Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) has collected more than Rs60 million by issuing inflated bills of 3.3 million units to thousands of its consumers in July and August, Dawn learnt on Wednesday.

Sources said the Ministry of Water and Power had been informed through a report that four circles of Fesco covering Civil Lines, Abdullahpur, Jaranwala, Chak Jhumra, Nazimabad, GM Abad, Samundri, Peoples Colony, Jhang city, Toba Tek Singh, Gojra, Bhakkar, Sultan Bahu, Kamalia, Sargodha, Bhalwal, Jauharabad and Mianwali had overbilled the consumers. The illegal act had been done to conceal the performance of the divisions in the shape of line losses.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a cabinet meeting a few days ago had expressed his annoyance at the inflated power bills. He had asked his special assistant, Musadiq Malik, to probe the allegation of overbilling in August.

The company later credited 3.37 million units (Rs61.42 million) to avoid any adverse action.

Jhang circle topped the overbilling in August with 1.56 million units (Rs25.8 million). As many as 3,485 cases of overbilling were reported in its five divisions with Bhakkar on top with 2,021cases.

The second circle comprising GM Abad, Samundri, Peoples Colony and Nazimabad stood second with more than 70,000 units (Rs12.5 million).

With 1,200 cases and more than 67,000 units (Rs13.3 million), the circle comprising Jhumra, Jaranwala, Abdullahpur and Civil Lines remained third.

In July, Sargodha circle comprising Sargodha-I, II and III and Bhalwal, Jauharabad and Mianwala had received Rs9.6 million through more than 300,000 excess units.

Revenue collection ratio of Fesco is 100pc with line losses in single digit. It has 3.2 million consumers.

A Fesco officer told Dawn that meter readers were being used for issuance of inflated bills to the consumers because such people could be easily pressured by their bosses.

He said some black sheep helped industrialists and small factory owners steal electricity which created troubles for the ordinary consumers.

Fourteen textile mills situated in Khurrianwala, Bundala and Chak Jhumra sub-divisions had been found using more than the sanctioned load of electricity in connivance with Fesco officials, causing a loss of more than Rs25 million to the national kitty. The intelligence officials of Fesco had detected such units who were consumers of B-3 category.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd , 2014