K-Electric’s (KE) move to increase per-unit charges and the failure of the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) in not finding anything wrong with it, new fuel adjustment charges have added to the worries of the people of Karachi.
The KE has only increased its customers’ anxiety and mental agony as it levied fuel adjustment charges on units consumed in May and June as well, inflating the bills to an unbearable level. Thousands of customers are finding it hard to pay these exorbitant amounts in bills.
It does not stop here though. The September bill will again come with even more backdated charges. This fuel adjustment charge makes no sense and needs to be revisited by Nepra, and the distribution companies (Discos) should manage things better and give some relief to the consumers who are already crushed by unprecedented inflation.
It is time the Supreme Court took sou motu notice and gave relief to the people of Karachi by making KE answerable for its arbitrary decisions despite resorting to unscheduled hours-long loadshedding every day.
Karachi definitely needs more players in the electricity supply sector to end KE’s monopoly which has been minting money on one pretext or the other for long. An intervention by the apex court is needed, especially because the federal and provincial governments do not seem to be serious in resolving any power issue related to the largest city of the country.
SYED FARHAN AHMED QADRI
KARACHI
