Karachi Electric Supply Company Ltd (KESC) is showing reluctance to pay back overcharged amount to its consumers, despite having clear instructions from National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) to do so from February, 2011. According to sources, the KESC, which always complains about losses, electricity theft, etc, is generally found in fleecing its consumers by different excuses.
They said that this case, which was highlighted by a consumer Sheikh Muhammad Munir, was a clear example of consumer rights violation where KESC, which overcharged millions of rupees from its consumers, has turned a deaf-ear on the Nepra's instructions to refund the same.
Sources said the authority had allowed the KESC to adjust its fuel price for the months of July 2009 to March 2010 through SRO 387(I)/2010 dated June 4, 2010. However, the KESC had misinterpreted the decision and applied the Fuel Price Adjustment (FPA) mechanism in the monthly consumers' bills, fleecing millions of rupees from its consumers, they maintained.
Despite the fact the said notification stated that the impact of above adjustment in the consumers' bill for each month should be worked out on the basis of billing for the respective month, the KESC, which supposed to charge prescribed amount per unit as FPA for the months of July 2009 to March 2010 and should reflect the same in the bill raised in June 2010 till December 2010, has wrongly calculated FPA on the units billed during the period July 2009 to March 2010, they said.
The Nepra, took notice on complaint of the said consumer, termed the said overcharging by KESC as violation of rule 6 of NEPRA's licensing (distribution) Rules 1999 and warned to take legal action against the company, if the matter was not resolved, they informed.
The company is continuously violating NEPRA's rules as it has issued the bills for the month of February without adjusting overcharged amount, albeit the authority has sought to know about the adjusted bills for each consumer category, along with certificate to the effect that necessary adjustments were made in the consumers' bills as per instructions, they said.
However, the sources in KESC said the company had denied any misinterpretation of the Nepra's directive and insisted that it had followed the instruction in letter and spirit. Therefore, any suggestion that KESC has violating any provision of the relevant act or rules was incorrect.