There is an emergent need for the lawmakers and regulatory authorities to revisit the current laws, rules and regulations and make them more stringent, impose hefty penalties on the Disco in case of violations and even imprisonment of officials involved in wrongdoings to deter the utility company from indulging in malpractices and to rebuild consumer confidence.
This was stated in a report of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Research Department. The report noted that in realization of the gravity of issue, National Assembly Standing Committee approved 'The Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power (Amendment) Bill 2017' in October 2017 which was related to the severe punishment of imprisonment of up to 3 years for those distribution companies' employees who are involved in over-billing and wrong billing.
Though, it bodes well for the consumers, there is still a lot more to be done. For instance, Nepra has issued the consumer service manual to elaborate the rules related to getting new connections but they are very general. It states that the Disco should state information regarding new connections on its website. It does not elaborate much on the extent of the information that should be made available particularly the pricing and specification of required equipment, service charges and requisite standards and certifications and ways to get them.
Likewise, it allows the consumer to procure the specified meter on his own if it is not available with the Disco, however, it does not mention whether he could exercise this right in case the Disco is overcharging for the meter and associated equipment or unnecessarily delaying the installation or he has doubts on the quality or efficiency of the meters provided by the utility. Since meters are calibrated by KE at its own lab, "it lacks transparency and creates doubts for the consumers." Meters should be calibrated at an accredited 3rd party lab, eg, SGS, TUV-NORD, etc. If Nepra can take the pain of implementing such a complex multi-year tariff for consumers, it will be more appropriate to further extend its control on other related services of the Discos, rationalize all the costs for the consumers, devise a mechanism of reliable third party verification, testing and certifications, regulate unnecessary time lags and revisit all the related rules and policies to ensure more stringent control of the authority over the Discos.
It has become even more critical as the country is now being linked to One-Link-One-Road project through China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC); wherein investments will play a central role in the economic framework. For this purpose, it is inevitable that the cost of doing business is rationalized along with infusing efficiency.