The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) has decided to crack the whip on government departments for not paying the pending bills.
According to officials, BESCOM will issue notices to various departments on Thursday demanding settlement of dues.
It will also consider approaching the government for permission to disconnect power supply to the institutions.
“We will write to all the departments asking them to pay the bills. We will also look into getting permission to disconnect supply to these departments,” a senior official of BESCOM said on Wednesday.
In March, the BBMP had dues of Rs 113 crore, BWSSB Rs 101 crore, BDA Rs 170 crore and the PWD owed Rs7 crore to BESCOM.
These figures have increased over the past six months and according to figures, the PWD owes BESCOM Rs 11.12 crore now.
While earlier appeals by BESCOM were to settle part of the bills, senior officials are now mulling over permission to disconnect power supply to installations with pending arrears.
While disconnecting power for consumers is an easy process, it is complicated for a public sector company supplying power to a government department and needs clearance. As a result, the arrears remain unpaid.
Despite reminders, negotiations and even appeals to the departments to pay at least 50 per cent of the arrears, BESCOM’s efforts have not been fruitful.
The BBMP, BWSSB, BDA, PWD and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Urban Development and Police Departments together owe more than Rs1,000 to the BESCOM.
