Protests had broken out across Pakistan over inflated electricity bills just as the caretaker government took over in August. While the government had tried to explain that the price of electricity had increased based on the consumer price index and the recently concluded deal with the International Monetary Fund, the real reason has turned out to be something different.

An inquiry report issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has revealed that millions of consumers across the country were overbilled in July and August this year due to “illegal and unlawful practices” of the distribution companies.

The 14-page report revealed how the DISCOs engaged in billing malpractices including equipment issues, frivolous charges, and alterations in the duration of the billing period.

Overall, the process that led to additional burdens on millions of consumers, can be divided into three broad categories.

1: Billing duration

The inquiry report made the startling revelation that over 10 million consumers across the country were issued bills that covered more than 30 days as is normally done.

The breakdowns show that over 5 million of these consumers were billed for 31 or 32 days and over 2 million consumers for 33 days. However, over 450,000 consumers were billed for 40 days or more, thereby increasing their bills significantly.

Keeping in mind that electricity bills work in slabs, the larger bill duration had all sorts of implications.

Millions of consumers were charged for higher slabs than they would have paid for. Although the report does not provide a consolidated number, over 2 million such consumers were reported in July in the Multan Electric Power Company alone.

Electricity bills provide two levels of protection to the poor segments of society. Users who consume between 100 and 200 units and put into the protected category, while those who consume less than 100 units are put in the ‘lifeline’ category.

With billing durations covering more than 30 days, millions of consumers (including 647,155 in Multan alone) lost the subsidies they received on their electricity bills.

2: Defective meters and incorrect readings

The report also revealed that hundreds of thousands of meters across the country are no longer fit for use and have not been replaced. This means the consumers who own the meters were charged without readings.

NEPRA’s Consumer Service Manual (CSM) states that defective meters must be replaced immediately or, at maximum, within two billing cycles. However, meters have not been replaced for months or, in some places, for the last three years!

As the defective meter is unable to provide a reading, the CSM allows billing on an average basis of the same consumption in the corresponding month last year.

The report reveals that over 400,000 consumers were charged under the ‘defective label’.

In addition, the report reveals that many meter-readers took readings (snap) using the camera on their phones instead of using the officially-issued purpose-built handheld units.

This led to faulty or inaccurate readings in many cases as the units could not be read accurately in many cases while in other instances the meter could not be recognised with certainty at all.

The problems related to meter readings identified in the report include:

• Difference between reading and charged bill
• Meter snap date not mentioned
• No snapshot at all
• Unclear snapshot
• Different date on snap and schedule
• Meter number is not clear
• Meter number is mismatched

3: Detection bills

DISCOs are allowed to clamp down on electricity theft by issuing ‘Detection bills’ that is, if a consumer gets caught illegally getting electricity from the main line, the company can charge them for the stolen units.

However, the inquiry report flatly says that the detection bills being issued are ‘fake and frivolous’. In simple terms, consumers are being penalised for stealing electricity, even though they did not commit any such wrongdoing.

The report adds that in some cases, consumers successfully appealed and were given back the money that the DISCOs had tried to charge them under the detection bills.

It also adds that such unlawful practices lead to ‘good’ consumers’ shying away from their actual bills as well.

The division into three categories was made for this report and is not how the actual NEPRA report organised its information.