WAH CANTT - Around 4,000 applications for installation of new electricity connections and replacement of defected metres are pending with the Islamabad Electric Supply Company’s Taxila/ Wah circle.
The shortage of domestic power metres is giving tough time to existing as well as old power consumers of IESCO in Taxila, Wah Cantt and Hassanabdal. Those willing to take a new power connection are running from pillar to post due to shortage of metres. The existing consumers are also harried a lot, as the defective metres are not getting replaced. Everyday several people come up with similar problems but they go back hopeless. Their complaints are heard but not attended.
Talking to The Nation, a large number of applicants said their cases have been being deferred for the past five months for want of new metres. Official sources said that over 4,000 consumers applied for domestic and commercial connections from December 2012 to January 2014 and had been issued demand notices and they paid a huge sum of over Rs 30 million in the company account but still they are deprived of connections. Sources said after repeated reminders the applicants were informed that metres were out of stock.
Moreover, inside sources said that Iesco had found 1,000 metres ‘faulty’ but they could not be replaced because of unavailability of new metres. The consumers whose metres had been declared out of order were being sent bills on the basis of average unit use and they claimed they had to pay inflated bills.
Official sources in Iesco said that the management has completely failed to oversee the future demand in the region and now no new electricity connection was being given to the citizens on the pretext of shortage of metres and other related material.
The sources said the company has been facing a serious shortage of electricity metres, cables and transformers for the last one year. Shortage of electricity metres clearly exposes the claims of Iesco that it was investing a huge sum on improving its infrastructure and better customer services.
Consumers here in twin cities of Taxila, Wah Cantt and Hassanabdal are of the view that the company has deliberately looting them because they knew about the deteriorating situation of their stock and did not inform the consumers about this at the time of payment of demand notice.
The official spokesman of IESCO Taxila region confirmed that installation of electricity connections or replacement of defected metres was being delayed due to shortage of metres.
Another official of IESCO told that around 1,500 applications for replacement of metres and around 2,500 for new connections have been pending for the past few months. He said all circles of IESCO were facing metres’ shortage owing to various reasons. He said the headquarters was supplying his office 10 to 20 metres every month, which were not sufficient to meet the demand.