DABS inks contracts to buy needed equipment

AVA- DABS’s monthly revenue is 100 million afghanis at time when Taliban militants collect electricity bills from consumers in 16 districts of the country.

The power utility said it had managed to collect 2.5 billion afghanis so far out of the 10.6 billion afghanis the company owed to its consumers.

Contracts:

DABS has inked five contracts with four private companies to provide needed materials. The companies are Abdul Rahim Salehzada, Farhad Faraz Limited, Sherkat-e-Taminati wa Sakhtumani Seqa and Babarak Bilal Limited.

DABS chief Eng. Amanullah Ghaleb told reporters after signing the contracts that the companies would provide transformers, switches, electricity equipment, miscellaneous raw materials, 4,900 power pylons in different sizes and 10 safety equipment needed by DABS.

He said the companies would provide the equipment within two months and DABS would pay the costs from its budget.

Ghalib said 860 electricity projects nationwide faced shortage of equipment that included transformers and with provision of the needed material, these projects would be completed.

He said the purchase of safety equipment for Kabul Breshana would help save electricity from being wasted and residents of Kabul would be provided proper electricity.

Ghaleb said raw materials were being purchased for the establishment of two power pylon manufacturing plants in Kabul and Baghlan provinces to meet domestic demand.

“In Kabul, 40 percent of electricity would waste in the past, but efforts made to reduce this wastage to 33 percent this year and we would try to further reduce the wastage to 28 percent by next year,” he said.

The DABS head said overloaded transformers and lack of equipment in sub-stations were main reasons of continued outages, adding that Kabul, Nangarhar, Balkh and Herat provinces were on a priority list of DABS to reduce electricity wastage and reform the system there.

Unpaid electricity bills

Ghaleb said DABS managed to collect 2.5 billion afghanis from 10.6 billion afghanis it owed to consumers. Of the arrears, 1.4 billion afghanis were recovered from common people and 1.13 billion afghanis from government institutions and religious places.

He said some government elites such as First Vice President Abdul Rahsid Dostum and Mohammad Karim Khalili did not pay power bills while some lawmakers had agreed to pay their outstanding bills in installations.

He said for the first time DABS rescued itself from a financial crisis and managed to collect 100 million in revenue on a monthly basis.