Public power: Protest against FESCO for ‘fleecing consumers’

Protests held at Jhang Road, Jaranwala Road and Satiana Road.

FAISALABAD:

Hundreds of people staged protest demonstrations against the Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (Fesco) on Wednesday for overbilling.

Demonstrators gathered at Jaranwala Road, Jhang Road and Satiana Road and chanted slogans against the Fesco.

Talib Hussain, one of the protesters, said the Fesco had been overbilling consumers besides an increase in load shedding.

He said the Fesco was fleecing the public. Hussain said the Fesco had billed him Rs4758 despite the 14-16 hours power outages. He said the bill was not in accordance with the reading on the electricity meter.

Muhammad Rafiq, another protestor, said he had approached the Fesco after he received an inflated bill. He said he was referred to the Fesco divisional office to get the bill rectified.

He said officials at the divisional office told him to approach the Fesco headquarters instead. Rafiq said officials at the headquarters told him that the concerned official was on leave and asked him to visit the office the following day. He said he had been frequenting Fesco offices in vain.

Muhammad Abbas, another demonstrator, said Fesco officials had been overcharging the consumers despite the water and power minister repeatedly proclaiming that consumers would not be overbilled.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, a Fesco official said the company had failed to remedy power theft in the region. He said the company had resorted instead to overbilling consumers.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Fesco Chief Executive Officer Rasheed Aslam rejected the allegations. Aslam said the Fesco had succeeded in overcoming the power theft problem.

He said the company had provided largely uninterrupted power during Ramazan. Aslam said the company had taken special care to avoid power cuts during sehri and iftar.

He said counters had been set-up at Fesco customer service centres across the region to address complaints and grievances regarding power outages and over billing. Aslam said the billing department had also been instructed not to overbill consumers.

He acknowledged that he had received some complaints regarding overbilling from Jhang Road, Bakkar Mandi and Shadab Colony residents. Aslam said special teams had been sent to the areas to verify meter readings.

He said the teams had concluded that the readings were not erroneous. Aslam said that some residents of these areas had consumed more electricity units in Ramazan than in the previous months.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2014.