Electricity bills: experts for reviving slab facility

Federal government should immediately revive the slab facility on electricity bills to get rid of the over- billing phenomenon, earning a bad name for it amidst hostile political situation in the country. The government had withdrawn the slab facility on electricity utility bills on 1.10.2013, burdening the utility bills with 23% increase in tariff depending on usage as it has reached to 100% tariff increase as per actual usage of electricity in some cases.
Further, said the power sector sources, the government should stop converting utility bills as a vehicle for collection of indirect taxes like Further Tax and additional 5% GST on universal GST of 16%. Also, they added, the government should withdraw orders for reduction in losses, causing inflated electricity bills at the rate of 10% on the part of DISCOs.
It may be noted that the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has taken notice of alarming increase in power tariff, followed by a detailed study by Special Assistant to the PM on Energy Dr Musadak Malik, saying that an increase of 33 percent in power tariff in October 2013 has raised the average bill by 42 percent in August 2014. However, the Prime Minister has disagreed with inference by arguing that how the impact of October last could transpire in August 2014.
The power sector circles said indirect taxation has played havoc with consumer billing, coupled with 10 percent inflated bills to overcome losses. According to these circles, only the collection of PTV license fee through utility bills gathers Rs 4 billion for the government every month. Making the utility bills as a vehicle to collect taxes indirectly speaks a lot about ineffective, inapt and inefficient tax machinery of the day, they added.
These circles have also pointed out another interesting phenomenon, saying that Go Nawaz Go campaign by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also played due role in confusing the government on governance. They said the government had shifted the supply flow to domestic consumers over the last three months at the cost of commercial and industrial output of the country. Accordingly, an uninterrupted electricity supply led to excessive use of the facility by the domestic consumers, which also increased per unit usage resulting into double jeopardy in the form of inflated bills.