The government’s Power Division has ordered to deploy special teams to realise nearly Tk 58 billion in due electricity bill across the country, sources said.
The teams will operate on a ‘disconnect for non-payment’ as only two out of six power distribution companies achieved to meet targets on collecting unpaid bills.
Dhaka Electric Supply Company Limited (DESCO) and Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC) met their targets while Northern Electricity Supply Company Limited (NESCO), West Zone Power Distribution Company Ltd (WZPDCL), Bangladesh Power Development Board, and Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) failed.
“The power sector is heavily subsidized. Moreover, unpaid bills create a pressure on the distribution companies, which in turn fail clear their dues with the PDB (power development board). It’s a rippling effect as the PDB then cannot pay the power plants,” Director General of Power Cell Mohammad Hossain told Bangla Tribune.
According to officials, the PDB had adopted the ‘disconnect for non-payment’ policy, which was a success in recovering dues.
A power division official, preferring anonymity, said unpaid electricity bills are creating inter-organisation arrears and hampering the financial flow in the sector.
Until April this year, the net collection of due bills by the six power distributing companies stands at Tk 57.8 billion.
As of May, The Rural Electrification Board collected Tk 29.18 billion dues, followed by BPDB gathering Tk 13.4 billion and NESCO and WZPDCL realizing Tk 6.02 billion and Tk 3.4 billion respectively.
These special teams have conducted 414 drives in April this year.
A little over 88,200 power connections were disconnected against Tk 1.39 billion due bills as well as 1,405 illegal connections were identified before they were snapped.
At a recent meeting, the additional secretary (administration) of Power Division asked organisations and companies under the Division to hold coordination meetings with their working magistrates. The meeting also ordered to disconnect the connections through taskforce.