The views of S. S. Haider on 'KESC bills' published in the daily Business Recorder of 25th July 2005, speaks of common misery of numerous Karachiites at the hands of KESC.
It is not only that most of KESC metres, specially new (plastic metres) are running fast but the KESC staff assigned to the job of 'metre reading' does not regularly visit to record actual electric consumption from hundreds of metres at the end of every month.
At times the KESC bills reflect the early date of month of metre reading day while the reading was actually recorded at a later date (some other day), witnessed by consumers.
This is happening in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, where hundreds of complexes stand. What is the mystery behind this act and why is it being done, is to be clarified by MD-KESC for consumer's knowledge?
The concerned KESC staff simply report lump sum units of consumption of their choice, just by sitting in their office without bothering to physically visit the site of metres and KESC Accounts department issues electric bills on the basis of assumption, reported by their field staff.
In fact the old practice of writing metre readings on the consumption card hanging against each metre and its awareness by concerned consumers at the time of recording monthly metre reading by KESC staff was a mutual source of keeping a check and balance on both consumers and KESC.
As a consumer, I also wish and pray to Allah for the earliest handover of KESC to private hands for better management and improved services. The Privatisation Commission is requested to kindly speed up transfer of KESC to private company in the interest of 14 million Karachiites.