KARACHI:
Through this letter, I want to draw the attention of the concerned authorities towards the issue of the delivery of electricity and gas bills, which consumers receive after the 20th each month. Consumers only have a week to clear their payments. Now, the people with enough means of income do not face any problem when making payments of the utility bills, but people with limited economic resources as well as the salaried class find it extremely difficult. This is because, during the last ten days of the month, they have nothing left in their pockets to pay the bills. They either have to borrow money from their fellows or family members to pay the bills or they are compelled to pay the bill when they draw the salary by the 1st of next month. So, along with the monthly bill, they also have to pay the late payment surcharge.
Given the ballooning tariffs of gas and electricity, people receive inflated bills, and the amount of late payment surcharge is also high. During these testing times of exponential inflation and unemployment, the late payment surcharge adds fuel to the fire.
To resolve this issue, either the gas and electricity supply companies must deliver the utility bills during the first week of every month when everyone is able to pay the bills conveniently or the fine of late payment surcharge must be curtailed so that the inflation-hit masses may heave a sigh of relief when paying their utility bills. Hopefully, the authorities concerned will prioritise this issue and resolve it in a timely manner.
Muhammad Fayyaz Nawrha
Mianwali
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2021.
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