Consumers brave doubling of power bills in a year

LAHORE: Electricity consumers have braved doubling of their power bills in Dec 2021 if compared with corresponding month of 2020.

For instance, Muhammad Aamir, a visibly perturbed consumer living along Canal Road, said his inflated power bill, showing 207 units consumed, cost him whopping Rs 10,184 in Dec 2021. “The most disturbing thing has been the fact that I am charged highly exorbitant rate of Rs49.19 per unit, which a sheer injustice,” he said and lamented that the fuel price adjustment in the power is being used as a tool to meet revenues dropped during low-consumption winter months.

While comparing Rs5,870 charged from him in Dec 2020 against usage of 232 unit, he said, he had to pay Rs10,184 now against consumption of 207, units which is 73.49 per cent more. He added that Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) charged him Rs49.19 per unit against the last year's rate of Rs25.30 per unit, saying such a high tariff is incomprehensible for him.

“Had I been charged last year's tariff of Rs25.30 per unit, this December I would have to pay just Rs5,320 for using 207 units against soaring actual bill of Rs10,184.”

Another consumer, while highlighting the issue of excessive power bills, said at microblogging site said that consumers were facing 100 to 140 per cent more electricity bills this month over last year's tariff. Sharing details of a consumer's bill, he added that in Dec 2020, a 190-unit power bill was Rs4,900 at the rate of Rs25.8 per unit. In sheer contracts, Dec 2021 bill for exactly same consumption is Rs8,332 at the rate of Rs43.85 per unit, up by 98.22 per cent. He feared that this disturbing trend might continue in coming months too partly because of upward revision of power tariff.

Faisal Bari, Associate Professor of Economics and Education at LUMS, said for 236 units of electricity used in Dec 2021, “we got a bill of Rs12,986, which is almost Rs55 per unit.

“Most of it is due to taxes and fuel adjustment etc., he said adding that it is the full bill that matters for the consumer which means he was charged Rs55 per unit. Commenting on inflated power bills, Bakhtawer Bilal, a netizen hailing from the USA, said he just calculated his electric charges. “I consumed 658 units. Guess my per unit rate inclusive of all charges in PKR? It is Rs28 per unit... Wow in the USA.

If Pakistani power consumers would be buying from the USA, their bill would cut in half.” Abu-Bakar Haider, another consumer, said he spent 241 units and received a bill of Rs7,919 that makes Rs30.36 a unit. This is after deduction of Rs1,075 for 'use more pay less' policy, he added.

This is insane, Ali Qureshi, another power consumer, said. This means electricity price in Pakistan is more than that in the most developed countries. “How’s that even justified? It means the government could not recover theft/ arrears from the powerful and makes awam to pay for theft etc., too. Pathetic,” he added. By the way of using fuel price adjustment tool, Johar Kamal, another consumer, said the government recovers money out of already-paid bills with past months' fuel adjustment included and subsequent months' fuel adjustment being slapped now.

When contacted and shared highly inflated electricity bills that were like a nightmare for consumers, a senior official of Ministry of Energy said on the condition of anonymity that these are charged on the basis of expensive imported fuels of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and coal used for power generation. The consumers have to bear the brunt of rising international prices of various fuels, he added.