20000122

Deficit reaches Rs 700m per month

KESC in dire

financial straits

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: The Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) is faced with a serious financial crisis as it is incurring a deficit Rs.700 million per month.

The corporation's liquidity is squeezed to limits for it was compelled to make an advance payment of Rs.400 million per month only for purchase of furnace oil from Pakistan State Oil (PSO) for keeping its power generators operative as well as purchasing power from the two IPPs.

Taking serious notice of the financial crisis, Col. Mohammad Tariq, Deputy Managing Director, KESC, has advised the bill collection department of the corporation to achieve the Rs.2000 million per month recovery target to bring the KESC out of its current financial morass, a spokesman on Friday said.

At the same time, however, he advised the controllers of the billing departments to immediately stop the practice of issuing average bills to the consumers. He further told the meter department to forthwith replace defective meters.

The DMD warned the billing controllers and recovery officers of severe action for failure to achieve the recovery of monthly power bills and issuance of incorrect bills. He was presiding over a meeting of the customers services departments.

Col. Tariq was annoyed at the poor recovery performance of the billing officials and their inability to detect power theft and billing discrepancies.

Others who participated the meeting were Col. Saleh Muhammad, deputy advisor implementation, Aslam Rashid Abbasi, General Manager customer

Services, chief engineers, Chief Controller Billing, and the controllers of the KESC 22 billing zones.