Monitoring Desk
CHARIKAR: Consumers including government departments and common people have failed to pay electricity bills to the tune of 170 million afghanis in Parwan province, the power utility said on Monday.
Abdul Naser Ahmadi, Da Afghanistan Bareshna Shirkat (DABS) head for Parwan, said a number of government departments and people had been defaulting on their electricity bills since 1392 solar year, affecting service delivery.
“Overall, 170 million afghanis are unpaid in power bills by government organs and people. The government alone owes 80 million afs. If the government and the people do not clear their bills, we must cut off their connections,” Ahmadi warned.
He did not name the defaulters, but said the water supply department alone defaulted on 14 million afghanis in unpaid power bills.
Parwan water supply department officials confirmed they owed to DABS but said residents owed 43 million afghanis to the water supply department and they did not want to pay that money.
Mohammad Nazir, head of Parwan water supply department, said they were unable to deal with powerful figures and collect their bills.
“If people do not pay water supply fee, then we cannot pay the DABS money and in this case, it will be the people to suffer at the end,” he said. Mohammad Asim Asim, who was recently sacked as Parwan governor, said that DABS should set deadlines for defaulters and use pressure methods.
Meanwhile, a number of Parwan residents accused DABS officials of overbilling and said they were unable to pay the increased amount.
Farid Ahmad Rubati, a local representative in the 11th urban district in Charikar, the provincial capital, said that DABS officials did not read meters carefully and they made mistakes in noting the units consumed.
“Some people consume less electricity but they are charged 6,000 afghanis a month, which is a high amount”, he said.
He said some powerful figures did not pay power bills and DABS could not deal with them and instead multiplied that money on people.
