Industries in the city are being issued letters and notices, pressuring them to seek permission for installation of generators and paying electricity duty which comes in millions of rupees under the Electricity Act 1910 and West Pakistan Electricity Duty Rules 1964.
Imtiaz Abbas Hussain, FCA, consultant, told Business Recorder here on Friday that officers from the Office of Electric Inspectors, Government of Sindh, have adopted this unique method to harass, and blackmail, the industries without any rhyme or reason.
The fact is that these laws, namely Electricity Act 1910 and the West Pakistan Electricity Duty Rules 1964, are applicable to those industries which are generating, using and supplying electricity to other persons. That is why, he said, these laws talk about ''Licensee'' (generating, using and supplying energy to other persons) and ''consumers'' (who are using energy supplied by the licensee).
Accordingly, they talk about permission, meter, record, return, etc. These issues arise only when energy is generated, and supplied to other persons, like KESC, Wapda, and IPPs which ''generate, use and supply'' electricity to consumers. These laws have nothing to do with the industries which are generating and using electricity for their own consumption, he said, adding that government officers always refer to Rule 12 of the West Pakistan Electricity Duty Rules 1964 to these industries, which says as under:
Rule 12: Application of rules in the case of generation, use and supply of energy by a person other than a licensee. These rules shall apply mutatis mutandis to any person other than a licensee generating, using and supplying energy to other persons. Imtiaz Abbas said that on going through this rule, following facts are noticed:
---- Licensees (who are generating, using and supplying energy to other persons) are well covered under this act and rules. There are persons who are generating, using and supplying energy to other persons but have not obtained licence under this act and rules are caught and covered under Rule 12.
---- This rule is not applicable on industries that are generating electricity for self-consumption and are ''not supplying'' to other persons.
---- This rule has used the words generating, using and supplying "AND" has not used the words "OR." Further those who will generate and supply to other persons will definitely use some energy for their own consumption also; that is why the law used the words "using and supplying."
He said that these government officers use Rules 9 and 13, which are irrelevant and applicable to licensee and consumers. Further, there is no Rule 13 as Rule 12 is the last rule in West Pakistan Electricity Duty Rules 1964. He suggested to all Chambers and Associations to get this Act and Rules vetted by their legal advisers specially in the context of industries which are generating energy and using for their own consumption and have nothing to do with supplying to other persons. "This is how millions of rupees bribes will be saved of these industries." These industries are helping government in overcoming energy crisis but local government is "penalising them, which is unfair and unlawful," he said.
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