Government to Refund Overcharged Electricity Bills

The federal government has decided to refund excess charges from overbilling in this month’s electricity bills, offering relief to consumers, according to a private news channel. Under the pro-rata system, the federal government has directed that a reduced tariff be applied to the extra units billed. According to the decision, for pro-rata billing, the tariff for additional units will be reduced. Consumers in the protected category will now pay 13 rupees per unit instead of 27 rupees per unit. Consumers will get credit for the excess charges in their current bills, and any overpaid amounts will be refunded. Furthermore, NEPRA has removed penalties for late bill payments. Last month, extra units were billed to consumers under the pro-rata system, leading to an investigation by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The probe revealed that reading dates were missing from the bills, and Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) failed to offer a clear explanation for this issue. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif extended the deadline for electricity bill payments by 10 days to give relief to the public-facing financial strain. Subsequently, the Power Division instructed all power distribution companies, including K-Electric, to apply this extension to the July and August 2024 bills.