Electricity bills: PHC issues stay order on fuel price adjustment

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has issued stay order on the charging fuel price adjustment on the electricity bills from the KP consumers, ARY News reported on Friday.

The short order was issued by PHC’s Justice Roohul Ameen Khan and Justice Shahid Khan and sought the reply from the federal government, Water & Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO) and National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).

The petitioner stated that the KP consumers being charged fuel price adjustment illegally as they were getting electricity from hydropower generation and the province was self-sufficient in generating the hydropower generation.

The petitioner added that KP was also supply additional electricity to other parts of the country, whereas, fuel price adjustment was charged on generating electricity from alternative energy sources.

READ: FLOODS: PM SHEHBAZ SHARIF DEMANDED TO WAIVE OFF ELECTRICITY BILLS

Yesterday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended the exemption for fuel adjustment charges (FAC) in August’s billing to consumers using 300 units of electricity.

Addressing a meeting of party lawmakers in Islamabad, the prime minister said that the coalition government in first phase announced an exemption to power users consuming 200 units which has now extended to 300 units.

The premier recalled that when his government came to power, it faced a myriad of problems due to the PTI government’s “wrong” policies.

The prime minister also proposed waiving the electricity bills of the consumers in flood-affected areas and exempting the farmers from ‘abiyana’ (water charges on crop irrigation) in calamity-hit places.

The prime minister mentioned that Pakistan was facing extreme challenges while meeting the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), even while taking steps to give subsidy on electricity.