KARACHI:
Pakistan’s electricity consumers deserve a tariff system that is fair, transparent and based on actual monthly consumption. Many consumers report that if their monthly electricity consumption exceeds 200 units even once, they lose the benefit of the protected consumer category for subsequent months. As a result, households continue to receive significantly higher bills even after reducing their consumption below the threshold. A single month’s higher usage should not result in months of financial penalty.
Another issue frequently faced by tenants is that people moving into rented houses or apartments sometimes inherit the consequences of a property’s previous billing history. New occupants, despite using electricity responsibly, may find themselves unable to benefit from lower tariff categories because of past consumption patterns associated with the same meter. This undermines the principle that consumers should be assessed on their own usage rather than that of previous occupants.
There are also households that make genuine efforts to conserve electricity by limiting air conditioner use, replacing old bulbs with LEDs and reducing unnecessary consumption, yet they continue to face disproportionately high bills because of tariff classification rules rather than their current month’s usage.
Consumers should be billed according to their actual monthly electricity consumption. NEPRA and DISCOs should review these regulations, eliminate unfair classifications, and adopt a billing system that is transparent, equitable and based solely on each consumer’s current month’s consumption.
Hafiz Muhammad Sohail
Karachi
