Fuel adjustment surcharge: Collection allowed from April 1

The bench issued the direction on an inter court appeal moved on behalf of the FESCO.

LAHORE: A division bench of the Lahore High Court headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial on Monday suspended a single bench’s order which set aside the levy of a fuel adjustment surcharge on power consumers of up to 350 units per month. The division bench allowed the collection of the surcharge. The bench allowed the fuel adjustment surcharge to be charged from April 1. The bench issued the direction on an inter court appeal moved on behalf of the Faisalabad Electricity Supply Company (Fesco). The bench put off further hearing for April 22. Counsel for the petitioner said that policy making was the ambit of the executive and the courts could not interfere with that function. He said that the single bench’s order defended the luxuries of some consumers as most domestic consumers would not use 350 units per month. Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan on January 28 had set aside the levy of fuel adjustment surcharges in electricity bills of power consumers of up to 350 units per month and had directed that National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (nepra) to make fresh decision about this surcharge for consumers who use more than 350 units of electricity.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2013.