GAS bills: Computer glitches irk customers

Computer system of SNGPL out of order; consumers receive faulty bills.

SIALKOT: The computer system of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) has been lying out of order for the last month and consumers have protested after they received faulty bills.

A large group of perturbed consumers from Daska, Sambrial, Uggoki, Pasrur and surrounding areas expressed concern over the computer glitch that they say increased their bills by thousands of rupees.

The consumers complained that they had been visiting different SNGPL offices at Sialkot for the correction of their inflated bills but the administration had categorically refused to correct the faults in the billing.

The protesting consumers also pointed out that hundreds of the applicants were facing difficulties in securing application forms or duplicate bills due to which several new gas connections in the district were still pending.

When contacted, SNGPL in charge, Sialkot Zafar Iqbal said that the computer system glitch had repeatedly been brought into the notice of high SNGPL officials in Lahore but the system had not been rectified “due to unknown reasons”. He said that the new gas connections were being given to the applicants from MNAs’ quotas.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2010.