NEPRA takes legal action against power companies for excessive billing

ISLAMABAD, The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has initiated legal proceedings in 71 cases involving excessive billing practices by various power distribution companies (DISCOs). This was disclosed during a response to a query raised by Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Sharmila Faruqui in the National Assembly (NA) on Thursday.

NEPRA revealed that the ongoing legal proceedings may lead to fines being imposed on the delinquent DISCOs once the investigations are concluded. The regulatory authority emphasised that fines have already been levied on DISCOs for other violations of power distribution rules.

The assembly was informed that between July and August 2023, several DISCOs issued bills exceeding the standard billing cycle of 30 to 31 days, affecting over 4 million consumers. In response to these irregularities, NEPRA directed that the affected bills be revised using a pro-rata calculation, ensuring consumers were only charged for the correct billing period.

The issue persisted between April and June 2024 when DISCOs applied the pro-rata mechanism to correct cases where meter readings were taken for a period either shorter or longer than 30/31 days. As a result, over 1.1 million consumers were once again impacted, prompting NEPRA to conduct another round of investigations and issue fresh directives for bill adjustments.

NEPRA confirmed that all affected consumers have since received corrected bills, ensuring that they were provided with the appropriate relief as per the authority’s directives. The regulatory body’s proactive steps aim to safeguard consumer rights and ensure compliance with billing regulations by power distribution companies.