Mechanism devised to address electricity overbilling: Abid Sher Ali
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry for Water and Power says it has devised a mechanism to address consumer complaints after power distribution companies were found to have charged excessive electricity costs from consumers.
News of the over-billing in the month of September had lead to a public outcry, forcing the federal government to announce an investigation into the matter.
Unsatisfied by an audit report on the matter presented to him on Friday, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ordered a special high-powered committee to examine afresh the issue of the inflated electricity bills.
Addressing a press conference here today, Minister of State for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali said that a survey will be conducted at the Union Council (UC) levels to resolve the complaints of overbilling.
The minister said that electricity consumers would also be updated regarding their electricity bills through SMS.
He vowed that a transparent audit will be conducted, every bill will be checked thoroughly, and that electricity connections of all institutions as well as individual consumers will be disconnected if found that they are not paying their bills.
“It will not be fair to disconnect individual consumers’ electricity and spare departments,” he said.
Also read: PM orders fresh probe into overbilling
He said that the electricity of the Capital Development Authority had already been disconnected on account of non-payment of bills.
The minister further claimed that the government was proactively executing diverse programmes to resolve the country’s energy crisis.
He said that work on Neelum-Jhelum Power project was underway and its first phase would be completed by 2015, adding that ongoing projects would be completed on time.
He said that, on directives of the prime minister, transmission lines will be upgraded further to improve power supply.
Pakistan is in the grip of its worst energy crisis in modern history which causes power outages up to 20 hours in parts of the country and has hammered industrial output.
The ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) swept general elections in May 2013 on a manifesto focusing on revival of a faltering economy and resolution of the energy crisis.
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (49) Closed
Nov 01, 2014 09:07pm
It's a good news
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Nov 01, 2014 09:14pm
Fix the corrupt system and people involved. Enough is enough!
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Nov 01, 2014 09:31pm
Over billing is as good as armed robbery. People are dying with heart attacks in absence of resources to pay electricity bills. There must be law to apprehend culprits and put through criminal proceedings.
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Nov 01, 2014 09:38pm
Abid Sher Ali is Nawaz Sharif nephew he got Ministry only because his uncle. He has no qualification, no performance track record no experience nothing secondly why should he perform for people? He knows it's not people who made him minister so he has to do corruption and give money to his uncle and aunt and they will make him minister again. Simple. Judges will not take action because they get their share. Army generals get their bigger share too. People will keep suffering until they take action against this status quo. Army generals will keep fooling people with excuses like Kashmir so they can maintain status quo.
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Nov 01, 2014 09:49pm
Abid Sher Ali is perhaps the most unreliable and untrustworthy individual in the this present government beside Khawaja Asif and Khawaja Saad Rafiq
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Nov 01, 2014 09:56pm
Abid Sher Ali is involved in this scam. If not, then he should resign as this happened under his nose.
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Nov 01, 2014 09:59pm
First Abid Sher Ali Should be fired.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:01pm
First logical step would be to put this federal minister in jail.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:10pm
So Govt will function properly only when in pressure from Pti?
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Nov 01, 2014 10:10pm
Over billing and billing info on SMS. This funny innovation may be the first one in the world.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:12pm
Yet another drama. Will it really happen? Don't play with the innocent people please.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:17pm
People like Mr. Abid Sher Ali and Mr. Khawaja Asif just do not have what it takes to instill a sense of confidence in the minds of the people.........they have failed and Mr.Nawaz Sharif should realise that it reflects poorly on his administration.
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Nov 01, 2014 10:21pm
Well done IK....
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Nov 01, 2014 10:34pm
For the first time i saw positive directives in pakistan but its not the policy of government its due imran khan dharna pressure and government is active to save face because he starts protest against overbilling and a petition in supreme court against overbilling.
Thanks great Khan
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Nov 01, 2014 10:39pm
Today I got electricity bill and surprized to see warning of disconnection, although I paid last month bill but Peshawar electric supply co. put last month as unpaid. What sms can do in this situation? I have to go to bank first then pesco office for the connection and by doing so I have to take leave from office. What a shame in a full year this will be my first casual leave. Can dear minister Mr. Abid Sher Ali solve my problem?
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Nov 01, 2014 10:41pm
Its sad to see incompetent family members justifying what they are doing. Nothing like this affects them, so how can they feel the pain of how people are suffering?
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Nov 01, 2014 10:57pm
After so much of damage to your own party image; keep it up. If God forbid NS has to go out of power pre- maturely then these type of Ministers would be the main reason.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:02pm
This man is totally incompetent. This is a clear case where he should be fired, together with the corrupt PM, or both of them forced to resign.
Corrupt Nawaz must understand that the nation will not tolerate incompetence and corruption.
The rigging expert PM must also be made to account for this.
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Nov 01, 2014 11:21pm
Creating an over-billing fiasco in electricity bills is akin to twisting reality and of which the present govt is quite adept to. the current public outrage regarding inflated electricity bills is attributed largely to exorbitant energy price hikes. this govt has increased cost of energy by 80% on average. had it been a significant difference between actual reading on meter and the one which was charged on the bill, there would have been chaos on the streets of the land.
1. what concrete efforts, this govt has put to curb the menace of electricity theft?
2. why the IPPs are flaunting their ever rising fiscal profits?
3. has this govt carried out merit based appointments of the most eligible candidates as head/CEOs of power distribution and generation companies? because transparency dies in an organization when it is headed by a political crony...
these are some of the impending questions which this govt should answer before belying to this nation with its political jugglery......
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Nov 01, 2014 11:32pm
@M.Saeed there is no comparison between fraud and arm robbery. in arm robbery there are chances that robbers might be killed...in this case of fraud the culprits are never going to go to jail or face any encounter
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Nov 02, 2014 12:09am
Now new tactic by noora league to make people fool once again. He pretend as if he had no idea earlier about this atrocity against common people.
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Nov 02, 2014 12:27am
Apparently, this man has an MBA from the University of Punjab. Having seen him speak a few times on TV talk shows, I can not believe this man has any qualifications. He is inarticulate, ill mannered, lacks logic, seems to be full of himself, doesn't seem to be very intelligent and he was appointed by his uncle (Mr. Nawaz Sharif) as the state minister for Power and Electricity. According to Wikipedia "Like almost all members of the cabinet, he is a close friend and relative of Nawaz Sharif". It is about time this man and his uncle realise that their days are over.
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Nov 02, 2014 12:51am
Instead, a mechanism should have been devised at least now to curb power theft.
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Nov 02, 2014 01:32am
Fix your home first.People in your neighbor are stealing electricity.Cut their line first then talk about others.Big factory owners in Faisalabad bribe the meter readers and this guy knows very well each and every one of them.
This guy is the biggest crook and Land Mafia in Faisalabad as his father Sher Ali was.
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Nov 02, 2014 02:03am
Every time there is an out cry from the public , PM Sharif sets up a committee , some one from his cabinet is involved in the scam or negligence of the duty. Irony is that no one in top echelon is accountable. Cycle of incompetence never ends.
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Nov 02, 2014 02:17am
I live in the United States for many years. I've a family of four and we use electricity all the time for multipurpose - lighting, cooking, laundry, heating, air conditioning, and list goes on. My average monthly electricity bill is just $120 (twelve thousand rupees) that is less than 2% of my monthly salary. Moreover, no load-shedding whatsoever.
Pakistan, on the other hand, is a country where law of jungle prevails:
- Kunda system is rampant and WAPDA employees are directly involved in this heinous crime.
- All factory/mill owners, feudal/wadera, and elites do not pay their fair share.
- Consequently, over billing is applied on poor and middle class to compensate the electricity revenue short fall.
- The Government can eradicate this evil if it is sincere.
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Nov 02, 2014 02:23am
@Ali being nephew is the final qualification... you are not Nawaz nephew that is why your fate is to write in forums :D
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Nov 02, 2014 02:47am
@buzz_g85 Imran Khan should have resigned from PTI chairmanship and politics since the Multan jalsa incident happened right under his nose. Shame on PTI for double standards
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Nov 02, 2014 02:53am
@Haider Rehman The government is under no sort of pressure. It is performing to uplift the country and the masses. Imran Khan wants credit for evwrything though the only thing he deserves credit of is spreading hate and inciting violence.
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Nov 02, 2014 03:10am
I truly belive PMLn is doing its best to fix the country. Khawaja Saad Rafique has turned railways profitable, the same institute which was ruined under PPP tenor. Railway is now being used to transport cargo, which was non existent 2 yrs ago due to lack of working locomotives. The same way, focus is on setting coal and hydel power plants rather then RPPs. Good job PMLn.
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Nov 02, 2014 03:11am
My vote for PMLn.
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Nov 02, 2014 03:14am
Minorities are with you PMLN AND NOT WITH TALIBAN KHAN!
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Nov 02, 2014 03:23am
Awam have been over charged for years, not only because of extortionate rates but because of faulty meters running faster. If IK had not raised this issue poor public would've kept suffering for years to come.
Thank you captaan sb.
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Nov 02, 2014 03:29am
The ministry's name should be the Ministry of Energy instead of Water & Power. Why is power linked with water alone? Because of this mindset we are unable to explore alternate sources of energy like wind, coal, salt, solar or even nuclear and keep crying for kalabagh dam !
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Nov 02, 2014 04:06am
This is why nawaz sharif needs to go,
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Nov 02, 2014 04:37am
Abed Sher Ali must resign. He is responsible for this
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Nov 02, 2014 05:34am
Has anyone addressed how this money will be returned to the folks who were over-billed? Perhaps in the form of electricity credit? It is only fair to return what was taken unfairly. What good would SMS do?
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Nov 02, 2014 07:41am
Tabdeli aa nahi rahi, Tabdeli aa gai hai. The corrupt rulers of the country under immense pressure. Could not imagine seeing this a year ago.
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Nov 02, 2014 08:44am
Drama. They were trying if the people protested, they will address it or will earn billions this way
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Nov 02, 2014 08:46am
Electricity connections of all institutions as well as individual consumers will be disconnected if found that they are not paying their bills.
PM house, president house, raiwand house, parliament house... Are they above law????
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Nov 02, 2014 10:01am
Why power ministers are not being booked for this daylight robbery under their watch? they are involved and responsible for the theft.
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Nov 02, 2014 10:23am
he is a funny man...
its like the fox saying, I will probe who is raiding the hen shack every night !!!
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Nov 02, 2014 10:43am
@Sunny go solar.
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Nov 02, 2014 10:56am
Lying is not only a defense mechanism; it's also a coping mechanism and a survival technique... you guys are pretty good at it..i think bureaucracy is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies.
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Nov 02, 2014 11:40am
just dragging their feet and not serious in resolving general public matters , a pity for the abiding citizens who are paying these bills through their noses.
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Nov 02, 2014 07:14pm
Dear Sir, i am working in saudi arabia last three month my family was with me in saudi arabia,but in pakistan my electric bill come 17147 rupees we try to ask wapda but no body listen us ,in bill mention 96 unit consumed,we pay all huge amount,
pl take necessary action against this matter,
my house is in kareem town near peoples colony no 2,house 67 A faisalabad city Sub division garden colony A/C # 16131151443110, you can see my bill,
Regards,
Muhammad Arshad,
wadi al dawasir,
saudi arabia, cell 00966547612331
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Nov 02, 2014 08:26pm
That is good statement. Can you please make a statement against 'Bhatta-Mafia'.............Please?
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Nov 03, 2014 01:02pm
@Muhammad Arshad - Bro I suggest u contact PTI via their website. Ik is the only one likely to take up your case.
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Nov 04, 2014 09:45pm
well can they bother to public that "mechanism"...I like to hear who was the culprit?....how much interest government earn over billions of over billing.....where that money gone and use for....will consumers will be reimburse with interest
It will be history if government reimburse people.
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