K-Electric’s plea for payment of Rs68bn faces stiff opposition

The K-Electric’s request for Rs68 billion in ‘unrecoverable dues’ from defaulters came under strong opposition from stakeholders for its additional impact on consumers and taxpayers in the shape of budgetary and tariff adjustment. The Karachi-based power utility has filed a write-off claim of Rs68bn, which it says accumulated over seven years since FY2017 based on a tariff determination of 2018 that allowed about 1.69 per cent provision for recovery losses. The utility’s CEO, Moonis Alvi, and Chief Financial Officer Amir Ghaziani called it the company’s right which should either be built into the consumer tariff or taken care of by the government. Most of the consumers and interveners, in their written comments and during public hearing presided over by Nepra Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, opposed the KE’s demand and said it should be rejected.