Iesco to disconnect electricity to 18 govt institutions
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ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali on Tuesday issued immediate orders to the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) for the disconnection of electricity supply to 18 government institutions including the President House, Prime Minister's Secretariat, Parliament Lodges, official residence of Chief Justice of Pakistan, Sindh and Balochistan House, DawnNews reported.
Moreover, orders were also issued for the disconnection of electric supply to the head offices of National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), Capital Development Authority (CDA), Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), environmental directorate, Punjab Jail, Motorway Police, Pakistan Public Works Department, and the office of TMO Rawalpindi.
Addressing a press conference in the federal capital city, the State Minister for Water and Power said that the campaign against electricity defaulters and power thieves had begun on the directives of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and action would be taken against those usurping the rights of the people.
Giving details of the dues owed to the Iesco, Abid Sher said that the Prime Minister's Secretariat owed Rs6.2 million in dues whereas the residence of the Chief Justice of Pakistan owed a bill of Rs1.1 million.
He further said that the CDA owed Rs360 million while the Parliament Lodges owed Rs200 milion to the Iesco.
The State Minister for Water and Power said that in the public sector the Sindh government was a defaulter of Rs56 billion and added that 5,000 connections, which the provincial government had failed to acknowledge, were disconnected in the Sindh.
He further said that electricty theft amounting to Rs70 billion had taken place in Balochistan where 16,000 illegal tube well connections existed.
Various public and private sector departments owed more than Rs3 billion to the Iesco, and the electricity supply compnay had been sending notices to these departments for some time over non-payment of dues.
Owing to the dues, the Iesco on Monday had disconnected the supply of electricity of around 100 buildings and departments for non-payment.
Virtually all government departments at both the central and provincial levels have contributed towards bankrupting the power sector.
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On DawnNews
Comments (65) Closed
Apr 29, 2014 01:01pm
Shameful, but woohoo!!
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Apr 29, 2014 01:02pm
Good job Mr. Ali. Keep it up.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:12pm
Good step.. defaulters should be dealt with severe action.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:20pm
Well done Iesco!! Its really embarrassing for the nation when we read that important venues like the PM's
Secretariat, The President House, Parliament Lodges and the Official residence of the Chief Justice of Pakistan are among the defaulters. Only strict action can help allay the suffering of common man due to power failures in this intense heat. The above mentioned will be comfortable even after the power cuts...thanks to their huge generators!
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Apr 29, 2014 01:23pm
What a joke? Who has the power to cut electrcity of PM secretariat or President house.? Just drama. AS Ali should do some practical work in reducing the loadshedding instead of false statements.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:30pm
Great work man! Finally some one doing some good work!
Hope he doesn't get punished by the govt.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:32pm
Go shero go
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Apr 29, 2014 01:40pm
If it's true then such efforts are beneficial and we can overcome the Shortfall issues. But they'll set together and finalize the power resumption in a Dialogue. How could a minister of state can order for disconnection of power supply to President House or Parliament Lodges? Its just something to show on social media and keep the citizens calm.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:43pm
That's the way to go.
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Apr 29, 2014 01:46pm
And please make sure no re-connection until dues are settled!!!
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Apr 29, 2014 02:01pm
A good move if it is implemented and followed till the dues are clear. However, I doubt that this will be in practice as it seems like all the major institutions.
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Apr 29, 2014 02:29pm
Abid-from gowal mandi to cabinet minister. He is in the government, why does he have to go public and shame his own party and government. He could walk across to Ishaq Dar and ask to borrow some of the $1.5 billion. By the way has Raiwind owners paid up their electricity bills. The public would like to know,
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Apr 29, 2014 02:30pm
I hope it is not just lip service or a big show. One never knows what is real and what is fake in this country.
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Apr 29, 2014 02:32pm
What difference would it make to shut electricity to these government buildings? I am sure they all have private power generation facilities. It would end up costing taxpayers more money to supply them with gas to run those facilities. This is just a publicity stunt. Where did your pre election promises go Mr. Nawaz? Thanks for fooling the poor once again. Good Job.
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Apr 29, 2014 02:36pm
These cosmetic orders are for public consumption, all places such as SC,parliament Lodges,President House have big Standby Generators which will start operating even if the Electricity is "Physically" disconnected,which I believe will not be disconnected physically and the so-called orders by Niku Minister of Power will be to the extent of News only.By the way I did not read name of PM's Secretariat in the list published here.
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Apr 29, 2014 02:42pm
I hope there are no exceptions to this. And teams should be created to recover the amount from defaulting institutions and the progress should be reported on the website or media.
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Apr 29, 2014 02:49pm
Where is that famous Khwaja who is the minister for water and power . Why is he hiding behind this young and brash Abid Sher Ali . Please stand up Khwaja Sahib and be counted . Dont hide yourself in a cave when there is a crisis . Be a man !!
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Apr 29, 2014 02:56pm
For the rehabilitation of electricity department i think cut Mr.Abid Sher Ali from his designation rather cutting the connections of others firstly.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:11pm
Thats what the reason even President house and Prime minister Secretariat are the defaulaters of Electricity How the load shading problem will solve if the ruler himself a major non payers of the country
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Apr 29, 2014 03:14pm
To be honest n frank, religious fanaticism will be the root cause for each and every failure of Pakistan. There is no foreign investment, there is no industrial growth, people are going to suffer. I really feel sorry for Pakistan's current status...
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Apr 29, 2014 03:16pm
Well done Abid Sher Ali. Accountability should start at the top.
This action must not stop and please do not show any mercy to our "azad adaliya" in this regard.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:18pm
These publicity stunts will not take away our misery, we as well as the minister knows that nothing on this planet will move the authorities to pay this huge circular debt looming around the corner. We poor people are paying bills on time to be punished just for their poor management. This circular debt issue should have been addressed with an effective recovery mechanism during the off peak summer season starting Oct in Pakistan so relief to the people could be ensured. I think these dumb heads are worse then clerks having no sense of management skills. Just politicizing every issue for their own petty political mileage!!
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Apr 29, 2014 03:21pm
BRAVO !
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Apr 29, 2014 03:26pm
Good strong message even if it is a bit of a cover up for others who when asked will point back ..
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Apr 29, 2014 03:33pm
Excellent job, please keep it up. Every section of the society that is serious in eradicating "Corruption" throughout Pakistan MUST support this campaign of the Ministry of Water and Power against the electricity theft. It is shameful that some politicians are trying to find baseless excuses to dispute this campaign,.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:38pm
What a great new ...
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Apr 29, 2014 03:47pm
very good decision, salute to guy for brave decision.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:48pm
Did u disconnect the power of Itefak foundry which PM own? I seen in TV news that he own lots of money
to electric power co. I think he is 2nd on non-payment list?
Thanks
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Apr 29, 2014 03:52pm
PM has taken the matter seriously on increased load shedding proSo the State Minister is in action after receiving a warning from the PM to bring the load shedding to a manageable level at all cost. It is not under stood rather surprising why these Government departments were not paying their electricity dues to Lesco.
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Apr 29, 2014 03:58pm
Great job, Islamabad Electric Supply Company. I am absolutely loving it. Let us get all the free loaders off the grid!!!!!!!!!!!.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:39pm
Jamura is again at jugglery stage. It may be turned into another national fiasco after the Indignation shown by the Sind Assembly.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:41pm
defaulters deserve this
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Apr 29, 2014 04:46pm
Sher Ali is utter disgrace to the very face of Pakistans political scene, I cant believe someone like him can be a minister.
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Apr 29, 2014 04:49pm
Abid Sher Ali - stick to your gun, good luck. I am afraid same prime minister who ordered you to go ahead, will renege on his order leaving you in the hot water,
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Apr 29, 2014 05:05pm
Ma sha Allah, did anyone saw the defaulter list from Lesco? 6 months agi the biggest defaulter was Ittefaq Foundaries. Then all of sudden the llist is updated and Sharifs family is no more there. If you think I am wrong I can give the link of a talk show where they were also discussing about Iteffaq Foundaries electricity defaults.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:08pm
Topi Drama continues...
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Apr 29, 2014 05:18pm
Just a PR excercise.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:29pm
increased-load shedding-worries-prime-minister. It was an earlier news. Guess what the problem is in his backyard. Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own backyard. We are proud of you Abid Sher Ali. would you be able to sustain your status quo that remains to be seen.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:31pm
how about Katchi abdi and illegal encroachment. Why always government and hard working business suffer when the culprits are so called lazy poor people. These people staying at expensive land in the city for free and stealing electricity and other resources.
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Apr 29, 2014 05:54pm
Media stunt to woo up some support, people thinking that Mr Ali would seriously cut off supply of electricity to government institutions are living in fools paradise. Don't believe anything until evidence is clear.
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Apr 29, 2014 06:06pm
This is just an eye-wash. What the hell this 'federal government' has been doing for nearly a year about non-payments of bills by these institutions. Funny thing is that it is probably the cabinet division that is supposed to pay all these electricity bills. Guess what Sher Sahib, the bill paying authorities are under PML-N government. As an example President house is occupied by your own appointee, wake up and don't think we are stupid.
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Apr 29, 2014 06:14pm
@Ali
Whats your definition of shamefulness. He is telling the truth. If it is a matter of shame for you, why dont you come forward and pay the bills of these institutions?
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Apr 29, 2014 06:19pm
Well done, Mr. Nawaz Sharif.
What did Abid Ali do? Nothing. Until the Prime MInister told his energy team yesterday to get their act together and cut electricity to those who dont pay their bills.
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Apr 29, 2014 06:24pm
Bad news.
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Apr 29, 2014 06:30pm
It is easier said than done! Lets revisit the story in a month and see how much this article holds true.
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Apr 29, 2014 07:03pm
According to this article, "orders have been issued to disconnect" but Mr. Minister, please keep us posted - our governments are known for orders, "ordered an immediate inquiry", "ordered to submit a report in two days", "ordered to take immediate action"...etc. etc... what we need are actions and results - thank you
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Apr 29, 2014 07:11pm
Outstanding!.
This is the way go.
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Apr 29, 2014 07:26pm
Another Drama.
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Apr 29, 2014 07:43pm
Before the elections I heard there were plenty of PPP members who weren't paying up. All of a sudden they're not in the list. Why did it take this guy all year to look at people who had outstanding bills?
I might be wrong but these questions do pop up when you read the headlines.
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Apr 29, 2014 07:51pm
PM and President house itself are the defaulters
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Apr 29, 2014 09:34pm
Great work
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Apr 29, 2014 10:16pm
Awesome news.
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Apr 29, 2014 10:45pm
People in power not paying their power bills :-)
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Apr 29, 2014 11:35pm
@shami Not a problem. Generators are there to keep power on.
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Apr 30, 2014 12:24am
Hey, how about a corrupt PM who paid 5000 rupees tax. We should start with him first by cutting electricity and removing from office?
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Apr 30, 2014 12:26am
Who he thinks he kiddin? Stop this drama.
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Apr 30, 2014 01:32am
Why PWD is not paying Bills?Where is the money destined in budget for payment of Bills?
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Apr 30, 2014 01:35am
Kudos. Disconnecting from the grid is a proven method to collect utility bills .. never heard of having to do that to the govt - that should tell you something.
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Apr 30, 2014 01:44am
@Muhammad Usman
Please nation please wake up when you will open your eyes these people are playing games you really think he will have the courage to do this NO IN A MILLION YERS!!!!! All these politicians are playing at your tab. You just wait and see none of the Political parties are for real. Request to all please stop dreaming. If he is really serious show us prove not tomorrow or in few mins show us right now. But he cant. So sad.
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Apr 30, 2014 02:00am
Drama.
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Apr 30, 2014 04:46am
@unbelievable Kudos to you for believing.
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Apr 30, 2014 07:06am
Such an statement from Official Government Quarters is a an evidence with facts and figures to prove in a competent Court of Law that raising electricity rates or tariff every now and then by the Government of time was to cover up unpaid bills over long period of time by the Ministers and their Ministry and or secretariate. Or in other words the Governments (Federal and Provincial) are the main defaulters deserving punishment in accordance with the existing Laws.
Will the rule of Law prevail? Will the Courts take Notice of the Mal-Administration? Will the Lawyer Fraternity come to the rescue of people of Pakistan? Will the Public Raise its voice?
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Apr 30, 2014 04:06pm
Topi drama.
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May 01, 2014 07:26am
Why doesn't the supply contract insist on payment via direct debit? It won't solve every account, but should deal with a major component of non-payers.
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May 01, 2014 07:32am
@Aamir Yes they have backup generators, but the difference is - they will have to pay to run the generators.
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