The so-called independent inquiry committee set up by the Ministry of Power to investigate allegations of over-billing by distribution companies, which includes K-Electric, in July-August last year, ordered these entities to be medium-sized in the country. It has been acquitted of any deliberate and malicious intent in increasing the bills of lakhs of class households. The committee accused the power sector regulator Nepra of acting prematurely and companies of overcharging their customers in violation of the Nepra Act. The committee released its findings days after Nepra hung off the hook to distribution firms, warning them to compensate consumers who were affected within a month, instead of paying them to an undisclosed amount. Punishment for the legal act that caused tens of thousands of people to face financial hardship.
Although the committee admitted that overbilling was common and had been going on for a long time, it tried to justify the corruption by blaming weather conditions, organizational and administrative weaknesses, shortage of meter reading staff and transportation. of It said that Nepra recently ignored these factors while giving its decision on the matter. On top of that, he pointed the finger at the previous hike in electricity prices in July, which had resulted in a sudden rise in consumers’ electricity bills.
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Even if the Committee’s defense of distribution companies is accepted, there is no justification for them to continue this old practice of showing high receipts at the expense of unsuspecting consumers. It is also a way of concealing power theft by the powerful and burdening honest consumers. Taken as a whole, the extra money taken by companies from their customers last summer may be just a fraction of their total billing, but when viewed from the perspective of individual customers, the extra burden is a few thousand rupees. May be unaffordable for most families.
