PHC restrains Tesco from collecting surcharges

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday restrained the Tribal Electric Supply Company (Tesco) from collecting tariff and financial cost surcharges in the monthly electricity bills of the industrial units in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
A division bench comprising of Mrs Justice Irshad Qaiser and Justice Roohul Amin issued the stay order on recovery of the two newly imposed surcharges in a writ petition filed by certain industrial units including Kohat Textiles Mills, Lahore Steel Mills, Kohat Cement Factory and others established in the Frontier Region Kohat.
The bench also issued notice to the Tesco and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to submit written replies in the writ petition before the next hearing. The petitioners’ lawyers Shiraz Butt and Rahmanullah submitted before the bench that on June 10, 2015 the Tesco on the direction of the federal government imposed the two new surcharges, arguing that this was in violation of the law and the verdicts of the superior courts.
They submitted that the people of tribal areas couldn’t afford such illegal surcharges as the industrial units and factories have been greatly affected by the years-long terrorism activities and military operations.After the preliminary hearing, the bench suspended the notification and issued the stay order restraining the Tesco from collecting the surcharges till the next order of the court.