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

This is apropos a letter to the Editor titled ”One extra unit, six months of punishment: stop unfair power and gas bill system, please” from this writer carried by the newspaper on Saturday and yesterday.

Policymakers must consider Pakistan’s social and cultural realities. While formulating utility pricing policies, the authorities must take into account the country’s social traditions, household circumstances and increasingly harsh climatic conditions. A policy that appears reasonable on paper may prove burdensome when applied without considering the realities of everyday life.

In Pakistani society, family ties and social obligations hold considerable importance. When a relative passes away, family members and relatives often travel from distant cities and villages to offer condolences and share the grief of the bereaved household. They may stay for several days, inevitably increasing the household’s consumption of electricity, gas and water.

Under such circumstances, it is neither culturally appropriate nor socially acceptable to turn grieving relatives away merely to keep utility consumption below an arbitrary threshold. Family obligations cannot always be subordinated to the demands of a rigid billing formula.

A household may be able to regulate its electricity and gas consumption during ordinary days or on certain festive occasions. However, extraordinary circumstances, particularly bereavements and family emergencies, cannot always be anticipated or controlled.

Should an exceptional increase in utility consumption during such circumstances deprive a household of subsidised rates for the following six months? Surely, a fair and compassionate policy must leave room for common sense.

Zahid Rajput (Karachi)

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026