Millions of consumers in Pakistan are being overcharged by electricity providers
As reported by Geo News on Monday, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has taken legal action against K-Electric (KE) and other power-providing corporations after discovering that millions of users were overcharged in July and August.
According to a statement released by the electricity regulator, “Legal proceedings against all Distribution Companies including KEL under NEPRA Fine Regulations, 2021 for violation of the provisions of NEPRA Act, CSM and tariff terms & conditions etc.”
The top authority received complaints from all around Pakistan in July and August about the distribution businesses charging consumers inflated, exorbitant, and incorrect bills. The authorities took these complaints “very seriously.”
The electricity regulator conducted extensive hearings in response to the accusations, and it was discovered that photos of “meter readings are either invisible or purposefully not taken.” Comparably, it has been reported in certain circumstances that monthly meter readings are being taken longer than the 30-day billing cycle. This has led to the improper or exaggerated charge of upper slab bills to the consumer(s) with fewer usage, hence altering their category from protected to un-protected.
It was also discovered by the authorities that a number of distribution companies were billing for meter readings in which the snaps “differ from the readings recorded on the consumers’ bills.”
A committee was then established by the authority to look into the issue of excessive charging.
The committee discovered that in July, 5.7 million customers of Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) and about 1.2 million customers of Gujranwala Electric Power Company (Gepco) were taxed for more than 30 days of the billing cycle.
Similar figures were reported by Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco) for the month of July, Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) for both months, and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) for August, totaling more than 800,000.
As a result, thousands of users saw their status shift from life-line to non-life-line, their slab change from lower to higher, and their protection status from protected to unprotected.
The statement stated, “It is further noted with grave concern that thousands of consumers were served electricity bills having invalid snaps during the months of July and […] August, in which MEPCO, LESCO, QESCO, and SEPCO are major contributors.”
The billing period, as defined by the terms and conditions of the notified tariff, is defined as a billing month that begins on the date of the last meter reading and ends on or before thirty days.
The aforementioned data, however, demonstrated that the billing cycles used by various DISCOs vary from 30 to 40 days, and in many cases, even longer.
The authorities stated that thousands of customers were billed for over 40 days, which is “alarmingly noted.”
The main reason for the overbilling in July and August was this. MEPCO, GEPCO, FESCO, LESCO, and HESCO are the DISCOs that have engaged in the most overbilling in this regard. It stated that, in general, all DISCOs are accountable for this pointless effort.
Legislation mandates that meters that are malfunctioning must be changed right away; if they are unavailable, they must be replaced within two billing cycles.
The findings clearly show that thousands of customers were charged for an average of more than two months—and in many cases, for as long as one year, three years, or longer—because the faulty meters were not replaced, the statement added.
The statement stated, “Even after three years, the respective DISCOs did not bother to replace the defective meters.”
“With the aforementioned in mind, it is determined that distribution companies are using illegal and unlawful methods to charge consumers excessive bills or detection bills. As a result, they are prima facie in violation of the NEPRA Act, the Consumer Service Manual, the Terms & Conditions of Tariff, and other applicable documents, etc.”
Nepra further ordered Discos to file a compliance report within 30 days and to take legal action against the relevant officials for violating the Consumer Service Manual and other relevant documents in accordance with their service regulations
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