One extra unit, six months of punishment: stop unfair power and gas bill system, please

Pakistan’s protected and unprotected electricity billing system has raised serious concerns about fairness, affordability and the financial burden on ordinary households. Introduced in 2021, the classification system was intended to make electricity subsidies more targeted by offering relatively lower rates to domestic consumers with lower electricity consumption.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) approved a policy in September 2021 aimed at making electricity subsidies more targeted. Under the system, eligible domestic consumers who use 200 units or less of electricity per month for six consecutive months qualify for protected status. However, exceeding the prescribed limit in even one month may render a consumer ineligible for this category, requiring them to meet the eligibility criteria again for six consecutive months.

In other words, a household that consumes 150 units of electricity for five consecutive months but uses 201 units in the sixth month may lose its protected status. Consequently, a temporary increase in consumption can have a lasting impact on a household’s electricity bills.

Zahid Rajput, Karachi

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026