Cheating and deceiving is norm of the day in Pakistan. Why then should public utility companies lag behind others? The SNGPL issued a gas bill for the month of February on March 25, but delivered it at my residence on April 8, which was the last date for making payment. Now, I have to pay an over 10 percent extra amount as late fee, for no fault of mine. There is yet another shock in the pipeline.
Every June the company sends an estimated inflated bill, almost double the amount for the last month's bill, as an annual practice, to show higher profits each financial year. This extra huge amount is adjusted later in subsequent bills based on actual meter reading. No wonder, the SNGPL has earned a gross profit of Rs 5.61 billion in the year ending June 30, 2010, which was a 21% increase over the previous year, despite massive shortage of gas supply to consumers during the period.