ISLAMABAD: The Power Division has banned electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) from issuing manual and discretionary detection bills, warning that officials responsible for arbitrary or incorrect billing will face strict disciplinary action.
Federal Minister for Energy (Power Division) Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari took notice of excessive and unjustified detection bills imposed on consumers and directed DISCOs to ensure that no consumer is subjected to incorrect or arbitrary billing in the future.
Addressing a meeting with the boards of directors of DISCOs, the minister issued directives for implementing a comprehensive reform framework aimed at protecting consumers while maintaining efforts to curb electricity theft.
He stressed that while combating power theft remained a national priority, innocent consumers would not be allowed to bear unjustified financial burdens.
According to a Power Division statement issued on Friday, all DISCOs will be required to issue detection bills exclusively through the centralised online portal developed by the Power Information Technology Company (PITC).
The statement said field staff and sub-divisional officers (SDOs) would no longer be permitted to issue manual detection bills. Any violation would be treated as serious misconduct and could lead to major disciplinary penalties against the officials concerned.
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The Power Division will also submit proposed amendments to the Consumer Service Manual (CSM) in the coming days to establish clear timelines for various billing and meter-related procedures.
Under the proposed framework, defective or burnt electricity meters must be replaced immediately or within a maximum of two billing cycles. Average billing during this period will be restricted to no more than two months.
Where a meter is found to be running slow or fast, recovery or credit adjustments will be limited to the preceding two billing cycles, according to the proposed reforms.
The framework also seeks to regulate the period for which detection bills can be charged. For general consumers found to be involved in illegal electricity abstraction, the proposed chargeable period will be limited to three billing cycles.
The maximum detection billing period will be capped at six months for registered consumers and 12 months for unregistered consumers.
The boards of directors of DISCOs and their customer services committees have also been directed to conduct detailed monthly reviews of detection bills to ensure accuracy, transparency and legitimate recovery.
Leghari said consumer protection remained a priority and that no official would be allowed to act beyond the law and applicable regulations.