Pesco chief vows to restore power supply to industrial units

PESHAWAR: Chief Executive Officer of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) Arif Khan Sadozai has assured that power supply to disconnected industrial units would be restored after meeting legal requirements.

He was addressing a meeting of the industrialists of Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) here in the Regional Office of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Tuesday. He said that progress on the recommendations of industrialists would be made after detailed consultations and whatever relief possible under the law would be granted to them.

Besides, Regional Secretary FPCCI Engineer Khalid Haider, known industrialists and president of Malakand Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI), Mohammad Shoaib Khan, Chief Engineer PESCO, Tahir Moeen and representatives of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KP-EZDMC), business community of Chitral and industrialists from PATA attended the meeting at large.

During the meeting, the Regional Coordinator FPCCI, Sartaj Ahmad Khan and President MCCI Mohammad Shoaib Khan informed the PESCO chief and his team regarding hardships faced by the industrialists of PATA due to disconnection of power supply to their units. They also complained of the charging of sales tax of the last 60 months, worth millions of rupees through a single payment and called for the recovery in 60 equal installments and requested for serious consideration of their case from all aspects.

In response to the demands of industrialists, CEO PESCO Arif Sadozai said that he will never like to become hurdle to industrial development rather will set on the table with industrialists to search out solution to them. He said that industrial units, whose power supply has been disconnected for non-payment of their utilities’ bills, would be restored. However, they would have to meet all legal requirements. He said that whatever relief is legally available would be provided to them. The CEO PESCO said that the levy of taxes and their abolition come under the ambit of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). However, the issue of the collection of electricity bills in installments would be made after mutual negotiations.

FPCCI informed the PESCO chief that important localities like Bradaam, Ashriat and Arundu are still deprived of the facility of electricity on which the PESCO chief directed his team to pay a joint visit to the concerned areas to prepare a report for guaranteeing power supply to the area.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023