PESHAWAR: The Peshawar Electric Supply Company has decided to suspend electric supply to key government departments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over non-payment of dues.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, the Pesco said the government departments in the province had yet to pay around Rs1 billion worth of monthly bills despite issuance of repeated notices.

The Pesco has set the April 28 deadline for payment of the said dues saying electric supply to defaulters in the province will be cut off thereafter.

It has already issued notices to several defaulters for the purpose but most of them have yet to respond to them.

“We have fixed April 28, 2014 for payment of dues otherwise electric supply to defaulters will be disconnected in the first phase without notice,” the Pesco said.

According to the Pesco, the local council board has to pay around Rs470 million, public health engineering Rs170 million, education department Rs60 million, irrigation department Rs60 million, Peshawar Development Authority Rs30 million, establishment department Rs10.25 million, higher education Rs10 million and health department Rs7.5 million.

Recently, the Pesco in line with state water and power minister Abid Sher Ali orders announced to cut off electric supply to different feeders in the province over high line losses and power theft.

The Wapda officials said the summer had already set in and if electric supply was suspended in the province, it would complicate the already tense situation.

They said most defaulters belonged to the suburban localities, where they got electricity by illegal hooks.