Pukhtunkhwa wants money back from Pepco

PESHAWAR: The Frontier government has protested the ‘at source deduction’ of its receipts by Pakistan Electric Power Company to adjust outstanding arrears and asked the federal government to immediately intervene into the matter.

The Pepco has been violating the constitution, relevant laws and decisions of Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee by not paying to the province electricity duty, it collects in the monthly bills, says a dispatch sent to Inter-Provincial Coordination Division, Islamabad.

Electricity Duty, a levy, is collected by the power distribution companies such Peshawar Electric Supply Company in each power bill that is payable to the provinces after deducting three per cent service charges.

The receipts under this head are accumulated by the Pepco, which serves as an umbrella for the distribution companies, and then transferred to the provinces. However, Pepco has not been paying such recoveries to the Frontier government since long to adjust its arrears against the latter’s official electricity connections.

It had adjusted Rs750.685 million during last two years that attracted criticism from the Frontier government, an official told Dawn.

The provincial government had taken notice of the ‘illegal’ adjustment and asked the federal government to intervene into the matter and facilitate the early refund of the adjusted amount, he added.

Citing the letter sent to IPC Division, the official said that section 118 (2) of the 1973 Constitution and Electricity Duty Rules 1964, barred Pepco from at source deduction against the provincial government’s receipts.

Similarly, IPCC in a meeting held on October 23, 2007 had agreed that NWFP government may be given a credit of Rs700 million on account of excess, wrong and fictitious billings.

However, instead of giving the agreed credit, Pepco had adjusted Rs491. 149 million in June 2008 and Rs259.509 million in June this year just to regularise its excess billing in sheer violation of 1973 Constitution and Electricity Duty Rules 1964, the official said.

The official argued that as per West Pakistan Act 1964 a penalty equal to the amount of Electricity Duty adjusted was also levy able if payment was not made to the provincial government within the prescribed period of 60 days of the month of collection.

Apart from taking up the matter with the federal government, a letter of protest has also been sent to Pepco managing director, saying the adjustment of electricity duty by Pepco, as a matter of routine, against its baseless dues is against the constitutional provisions and Electricity Duty Rules.

‘The provincial government protests strongly against this illegal action and demands refund of Rs750.658 million adjusted against Pesco’s receivables and stop this practice in future,’ said the letter.