Resident complains he is charged a lot even though only a watchman lives in the house. PHOTO: FILE
This direction was given to the power utility recently during the hearing of petition challenging issuance of excessive electricity bills. Muhammad Anwar Gaziani, a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, had taken the KESC to court for issuing an electricity bill amounting to Rs139,485 for the month of November, 2012, only.
According to the petitioner, he lived in Dubai along with his family and only a watchman looks after the bungalow. While, the electricity bills for the months of September and October of last year were paid without any delay, the KESC issued an exorbitant bill claiming Rs139,485 for the month of November.
The petitioner argued that the KESC’s act is a sheer violation of the laws as he has been also threatened of power supply disconnection in case he does not pay. Meanwhile, an application for a correction in the bill is pending with the electricity inspector, who has yet to decide the matter. He pleaded the court declare the excessive bill as illegal and exempt him from payment.
Headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam, the bench ordered the KESC’s lawyer to issue a recurring bill to the petitioner to pay the same till the time the electricity inspector makes a decision. The lawyer was also asked to examine a regulatory mechanism to ensure that only recurring bills are claimed without burdening the consumers to run around from one department to the other to get their bills corrected.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 17th, 2013.
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