RAWALPINDI: Following a request from the Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) authorities for the protection of staff and property in light of angry protests against inflated power bills, up to 250 police officers have been deployed around the Iesco headquarters and installations in the garrison city.

Public anger and resentment forced caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to call an emergency meeting at the Prime Minister’s House on Sunday. However, no relief for the public was announced by the government.

The Iesco operation circle city for Rawalpindi had requested the deployment of the police at the offices to ensure the protection of staff and property in order to prevent unfavourable reactions from electricity consumers.

In a letter to the CPO, the Iesco superintendent engineer said that consumers were visiting different offices of Iesco in the “form of mobs or groups” protesting the increase in electricity bills. “The employees of Iesco are feeling insecure while performing their duties,” the superintendent engineer said.

250 police officials deployed at headquarters, other offices

Separately, Iesco decided to hold ‘e-Kutchery’ to rectify electricity complaints. According to a statement, in compliance with the government of Pakistan and Power Division’s directives regarding immediate rectification of complaints, a series of ‘e-Kutcheries’ will be held in the Iesco region.

Iesco CEO Dr Mohammad Amjad Khan will conduct a Facebook live session on Tuesday from 10am to 12pm. “Consumers can contact [the] Chief Executive Iesco via Facebook ID CEO-Iesco e-Kutchery or call at Tel No. 051-9253105 to register and resolve their electricity-related issues,” a statement issued by Iesco read.

On the other hand, protests by the electricity consumers continued in different parts of the garrison city on Sunday expressing their anger against high electricity bills and urged the government to withdraw the extra taxes.

A large number of residents of People’s colony and surrounding areas gathered at Kalma Chowk on Sunday, carrying electricity bills and placards inscribed with anti-inflation slogans and demands. The protesters raised slogans against exorbitant bills and demanded the government withdraw the increase as it was not possible for them to pay such huge amounts.

Protests against bills

On Saturday, a large number of people protested at Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Bagh against the high electricity bills. They held banners and placards while chanting slogans against the local electricity provider.

“Our bill has doubled. I don’t have my bill in hand right now but this time our bill was Rs84,000. When I sent my son to get it fixed, they adjusted the bill to Rs54,000. If you are increasing this bill because the IMF asked you to do so, it is still wrong,” Dawn.com quoted a protester as saying.

‘ElectricityBills’ remained a top trend on ‘X’, erstwhile Twitter, where the public lambasted the government for exorbitant bills. A post making rounds on social media claimed that an elderly person jumped off a bridge in Khanna, Islamabad, due to his high electricity bill. However, this could not be independently verified by Dawn.

A video showed announcements being made from a mosque, asking people not to pay their bills. Some of the viral content included people setting their electricity bills alight, while in some places, Discos employees were reportedly roughed up by protesters.

Last month, the power regulator raised the national average tariff by around Rs5 per unit, pushing the base unit power tariff from Rs24.82 to Rs29.78. On Aug 22, the government once again sought to raise the power rate by Rs3.55 per unit.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2023