ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has directed the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd (SNGPL) to revise the unjust bill of Rs44,526 charged to a consumer, after his gas meter was damaged because of firing between two groups.
The president gave these directions while rejecting a representation filed by the SNGPL (the Agency) against a decision of the Wafaqi Mohtasib, wherein, the SNGPL was found to have committed maladministration for charging unjustified bill and meter cost from the complainant.
The president in his decision observed that the gas meter of the complainant got damaged as a result of firing between two groups and due to no fault of the consumer and that the complainant had filed an FIR with the police on account of damage caused to his gas meter.
He observed that it was a case of meter damage and not meter tampering and the report furnished by the SNGPL also did not reflect that the complainant was associated with the violation of consumer’s gas contract agreement.
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The president further noted that SNGPL had replaced his gas meter after his formal request, but his meter was dispatched for flow proving to a local laboratory after a lapse of more than a month, whereas, the SNGPL was required to do so within five days as per the policy framed by OGRA.
He held that SNGPL had no basis to recover unregistered consumed gas charges and impose a penalty, since it was the domain of a competent court of law.
He further stated that SNGPL can only charge for one year where the period of tampering is unknown, but in the present case the period of damage to meter was well-determined, i.e., 20 days till the date of replacement of the damaged meter.
The president upheld the Mohtasib’s decision that the SNGPL had billed the complainant in violation of law and the rules and procedures laid down by the OGRA, which amounted to maladministration, therefore, the SNGPL’s representation deserved to be rejected.
He further directed the agency to report compliance to the Wafaqi Mohtasib within 30 days of his decision.
As per details, Brig (retired) Arbab Gul Muhammad, a resident of Peshawar, had alleged unjust billing by the Agency for the month of February 2021 amounting to Rs44,525, including the meter cost of Rs9,004.
According to him, his meter was damaged due to cross-firing between two local groups and had had also registered an FIR with the local police station, and that the Agency had unjustifiably charged him the said amount. Feeling aggrieved, he approached the Wafaqi Mohtasib, who passed the orders in his favour. Subsequently, the SNGPL filed a representation with the president, which he rejected.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022