Rs244 billion collected from electricity consumers in the name of overbilling, audit report reveals

Islamabad (Salam Arze-pakistan) It has been revealed that eight electricity distribution companies have collected Rs 244 billion from consumers through overbilling. According to Express News, audit officials have exposed the financial irregularities of eight companies and revealed that no officer who took extra money from the pockets of consumers to hide his incompetence was punished.

The companies have claimed that the money has been returned to the consumers, but the records were not provided to the audit authorities. According to the available documents, the audit report has revealed that eight electricity distribution companies are involved in overbilling of Rs 244 billion. According to the report, overbilling was done in Islamabad, Lahore, Hyderabad, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta, Sukkur and tribal areas. Agricultural tube wells and deceased persons could not escape overbilling.

Multan Electric Company sent bills worth Rs 49.6 million to deceased persons, in addition to which 1.221 million units were charged to consumers with zero units. The audit report states that the companies overbilled to hide line losses, power theft and poor performance. Only 5 distribution companies overbilled consumers by Rs 47.81 billion and sent additional bills of Rs 47.81 billion to 278,649 consumers in a month.

According to the report, no action was taken against any officers who had overcharged consumers by billions of rupees. In 2023-24, consumers were sent additional bills of 904.6 million electricity units. The report states that the companies have claimed to refund billions of rupees to consumers, however, the audit authorities asked for records which were not provided. According to the audit report, consumers were overbilled by Rs22 billion in additional load to cover line losses. The audit authorities have sought an explanation from 8 electricity distribution companies. The document reveals that the Quetta company overbilled agricultural consumers by more than Rs148 billion. The company has collected money from agricultural tube wells in 2023-24 to hide poor performance. According to the report, 10 electricity distribution companies sent additional bills of Rs18.64 billion to 1432 feeders. Despite being asked, the distribution companies did not provide records to the audit authorities. The overbilled amount of Rs5.29 billion was refunded to consumers in the form of incorrect readings, while the Peshawar company has given a multi-credit adjustment of Rs2.18 billion to consumers.