SC accepts plea against fuel price adjustment in electricity bills

The Supreme Court (SC) has accepted Jamaat-e-Islami’s petition against fuel price adjustment surcharges in electricity bills for hearing after removing objections raised by the Registrar’s Office.

During the hearing, Justice Jamal Mandokhail remarked that the taxes collected through electricity bills go into the national treasury.

Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi pointed out that NEPRA conducts hearings on electricity tariffs and questioned whether Jamaat-e-Islami had ever raised objections during NEPRA’s proceedings.

Justice Rizvi further stated that electricity theft is a major cause of line losses, but acknowledged that Jamaat-e-Islami has run campaigns against electricity theft. The petitioner’s counsel argued that various surcharges and taxes, including the Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA), are being imposed through electricity bills, placing an additional burden on consumers.

The counsel further emphasized that their petition specifically challenges certain surcharges and the FAD, upon which the court decided to hear the case along with the ongoing IPPs case for a comprehensive review.

The SC after initial arguments accepted JI’s plea against the fuel price adjustment surcharges in the bills and decided to hear this petition along with the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) case.