NEPRA reveals overbilling of billions by DISCOs to power consumers

ISLAMABAD: A recent report by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has revealed that electricity consumers have been burdened with billions of rupees in detection bills by power companies.

According to the report, between April and June 2024, power companies sent detection bills amounting to over Rs35bln to more than 1.3mln power consumers.

The details shared by NEPRA showed Sukkur Electric Supply Company (SEPCO) sent detection bills worth over Rs13 billion, HESCO issued bills totaling Rs7.6 billion, LESCO sent bills amounting to 3.7 billion rupees.

The NEPRA report further highlighted that PESCO issued over Rs1.5 billion in detection bills to 70,506 consumers.

The report also highlighted an increase in corruption within power companies due to the issuance of these detection bills, further burdening consumers with additional charges.

NEPRA has criticized these actions, stating that the detection bills were issued to inflate revenue without proper verification or rectification, leading to an unjust financial burden on consumers.

NEPRA emphasized that these detection bills have resulted in unfair additional costs for electricity consumers, undermining trust in the power sector. The situation has raised concerns regarding consumer protection and accountability in electricity billing practices.

Earlier on December 19, last year, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) informed the National Assembly (NA) that it is conducting legal proceedings in 71 cases of excessive billing against various delinquent power Distribution Companies (DISCOs).

In a reply to a query from Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Sharmila Faruqui, the NEPRA authority added that it may impose fines on DISCOs in accordance with the relevant rules and regulations once the proceedings are concluded.