Government owes MVR 543 million in electricity bills: STELCO

State Electric Company Ltd (STELCO) has stated that the government owes MVR 543 million in unpaid electricity bills to the company, as of May this year.

In a letter sent to the Parliament Public Accounts Committee in reply to the committee's inquiry following a government’s request for parliament approval on the extension of MVR 50 million overdraft facility granted to the government by STELCO, the company stated that different government institutions already owe an astounding amount of money to the company.

Detailing the figures, the country’s major power company stated that different government offices owed them a total of MVR 281, the National Social Protection Agency (NSPA) an additional MVR 224 and the government’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) another MVR 37 million, with an accumulated total of MVR 543 in overdue electricity bills.

STELCO’s reply to the Public Accounts Committee was discussed at the committee’s meeting today. The meeting herd the letter, which further noted that the government’s failure to pay for their electricity is causing a restrictions to the company's cash flow and that it has also restricted them from carrying out additional projects.

Discussing STELCO’s letter, committee member Hulhumeedhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb said that the responsibility to seeking the overdue payments lies with the company itself and that obtaining a financial loan to remedy the lack of cash flow restrictions will not be supported. MP Ilyas said that the company does not hold back in following due procedure and cutting off electricity from local households for failure to pay their due, and posed the question why the company practices a double standard when dealing with government offices.

Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed said at the committee that he does not believe that they should object to providing the MVR 50 million guarantee to STELCO, to extend the overdraft for the government.

Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim said that the committee has decided to summon senior officials from STELCO, as the company wishes to speak to the Public Accounts Committee regarding the restrictions they face.