LAHORE: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry’s (FPCCI) Businessmen Panel (BMP) has slammed the power distribution companies (Discos) for issuing highly inflated power bills to the trade and industry in the second quarter (2Q) of Apr-Jun of current fiscal year of 2024-25.

BMP Chairman and FPCCI former president Mian Anjum Nisar observed that the high energy cost would prove to be detrimental to the industries, also opening the floodgates of inflation. In addition to making the electricity bills costlier and unaffordable for the consumers, the hike in base tariff would escalate prices of all household goods, he added.

Quoting a report based on information and data provided by Power Information Technology Company, he said that the scope of pro rata billing had been expanded beyond its original intent instead of solely revising bills for periods exceeding 30 days.

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All power companies, including Karachi Electric, have started applying pro rata adjustments to bills for periods fewer than 30 days. This has resulted in a “significant number of consumers being reclassified from “protected” to unprotected categories, from lifeline to non-lifeline, and from lower to higher tariff slabs, which resulted in inflated bills.

Anjum Nisar stated that the constant increase in power tariffs on the pretext of fuel adjustment had increased electricity prices and added to the already high cost of trade and industry. Seeking comparable energy tariffs for domestic industries in order to capture the global market, he stated that due to high electricity rates, power theft became rampant as the tariff was unaffordable to consumers.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024