The Ministry of Water and Power Development high-ups have allegedly allowed the distribution companies (DISCOs) to disregard the commercial procedure against defective meters to meet the line losses and recovery targets, said sources.
Reliable sources said the DISCOs were charging excessive bills by raising the number of units against defective meters. While producing a corrected bill of Rs 500 against an excessive one of Rs 20,000, one consumer pointed out to this scribe that he was able to save his skin when he approached the LESCO through an influential. The copy of the corrected electricity bill is available with Business Recorder. The LESCO insiders claimed that the over billing phenomenon has been accelerated after the visit of Federal Secretary to the DISCOs a few months back.
Interestingly, the line losses during July - December 2016 stood at 16.4 percent, as it was the case during the corresponding period. However, the recovery has reduced to 91.3 percent during July - December 2016 against 96.4 percent during the corresponding period.
As per the commercial procedure, whenever any meter of consumer is damaged or becomes defective, a code is printed on the electricity bill as "EST DEFECTIVE" and the consumer is charged on the basis of the electricity consumption during the corresponding month of last year or on the basis of the average billing of 11 preceding months, whichever is higher.
Interestingly, the LESCO staff, in sheer violation of the commercial procedure, was avoiding the printing of the code dedicated for defective meters. "No remarks are being printed on the electricity bill against the defective meter and instead the consumers are being charged against heavy consumption based upon speculations. "It is not less than fleecing the consumers by stubborn, unfriendly, corrupt and callous field staff of DISCOs," said another consumer.
A power sector expert, when contacted, termed it a malpractice in order to cover up fictitiously line losses and overcome the recovery shortfall.
Meanwhile, the LESCO sources told this scribe that the Company was facing acute shortage of electricity meters and the practice of abstaining from printing the defective code is an effort to conceal the number of defective meters as well.
It is also worth noting that the meters being damaged due to rain during the last summer were yet to be replaced and the consumers were being charged excessively on notional billing.
Majority of the consumers were found shuttling between different offices and for the most of the time they left these offices being unheard. Meanwhile, the commission mafia remains active in and around these sub-divisional offices who strike a bargain with the consumer to get reduced bill. Majority of the field officers harass and force consumers to pay the exorbitant bill as and when they try to justify their case.