Sharjeel Memon calls for probe into electricity supply companies’ accounts

KARACHI: Sindh Senior Minister for Sindh for Information, Transport, Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control Sharjeel Inam Memon, on Monday called for probe into the accounts of electricity supply companies to ascertain their profits.

Talking to journalists, the minister alleged that K-Electric, HESCO, and SEPCO were violating the Constitution.

He said according to the agreement, K-Electric was under obligation to allocate a portion of its revenue towards network expansion and maintenance. But it was not following the accord as evident from not proper maintenance of its installations such as feeders which got tripped whether there was a little rain or heat, he added.

Sharjeel Memon said that the Sindh Assembly had recently passed a resolution urging the electricity supply companies to mend their ways. In reaction, the K-Electric wrote a letter to the government claiming its liabilities towards the latter.

However, the Sindh Government also had outstanding dues towards the K-Electric, which the latter could settle with its liabilities towards the former, he added.

He said that it was a violation of law and the Constitution that the electricity supply companies opted for collective punishment. In the rural areas of Sindh, the PMTs (Potential Metering Transformers) were removed when there were ten defaulters among 100 consumers, he added.

Similarly, he said, the companies sent estimated bills instead of the ones based on actual meter readings, which was again against the law. When the consumers reached them for getting the bills corrected, the officials concerned instead of reducing the bill amount as per meter reading, made them to pay the same in installments.