December 14, 2008	Sunday	Zilhaj 15, 1429

PESHAWAR, Dec 13: Consumers have accused the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline (SNGPL) of excessive billing and other discrepancies.

Consumers from different parts of the provincial capital complained that one of the main tactics through which the public utility was overcharging them was irregular meter reading.

The meter reading mentioned in the bill and displayed on the meter screen often didn’t reconcile with each other that usually ended up exploiting the consumers, they said.

For example, explained a consumer, the public utility intentionally charged less in a month or two just to let the reading go further up so that the consumers could be charged under higher billing slabs determined by the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra).

Likewise, consumers are also deceived as far as billing under different tariff slabs is concerned. A consumer from Defence Officers’ Colony complained that his consumption for the month of Oct was 4.320HM that should have been divided from bottom to top billing slabs, but it was done otherwise causing a difference of almost Rs893 in his billing.

“On the basis of my consumption and billing slabs given on the back of the bill I was supposed to pay Rs5,417 but I received the bill of Rs6,310, he maintained.

The monthly bills of a number of consumers also carry another discrepancy that raised suspicion about the way the public utility charges its consumers.

The bill of the same consumer from the Defence Officers’ Colony for the month of Oct showed a huge difference in the due payment and actual payment for the month of July. The due amount head of the bill shows due payment as Rs2,940, whereas Rs4,750 had been paid to the public utility.

The consumers complained that no heed was paid to address such kind of discrepancies in the billing by the SNGPL authorities in Peshawar.

When contacted, Mohammad Saleem, senior billing officer of the company, rejected the complaints raised by consumers.

He, however, admitted that unintentional discrepancies or errors in reading or billing were possible. He clarified that the public utility had elaborate arrangements for addressing public complaints.

He said one reason for such anomalies in the billing was that the consumers had not been adjusted with manifold increase carried out in gas tariff since July 1st.