The pro rata system: Inflated bills leave consumers reeling

We are a family of eight, living in one rented room, with one fan and one energy saver, and even that one fan remains off when the temperature skyrockets because then it starts throwing fire which becomes unbearable for the children. And the energy saver is only lit up after the sun goes down. I work as a domestic help and my monthly income is 20 thousand rupees. My husband is a rickshaw driver, who gives me 6,000 rupees per month. All six of my children are school going. After paying for their fee, paying the house rent and providing two meals a day, I am not left with enough money to pay the hefty electricity bill which was Rs 8,000 this month. With the recent increase in bills, I am having sleepless nights over the amount that I would need to pay, to not only keep the electricity intact but also to keep my rented room.

This is what Bushra disclosed when I asked her the reason for silently crying while doing the dishes in my kitchen. I did whatever I could to assuage her momentarily and then decided to investigate this matter of overbilling further.

Apparently, the pro rata system for electricity billing was introduced in March this year. This system basically means that if your billing period is of 30-days and the meter reader comes for a reading on the 26th day, the amount of units used will be divided by 26 and then multiplied by the remaining 4 days of the 30-day period and this average reading is called ‘pro rata consumption’ which at times pushes the consumer out of the protected category which is the consumption of 200 or less units. Once they are in the unprotected category, the units become very expensive and the system will charge them in the same category for the next 6 months, even if their consumption is less than 200 units in the very next month.

According to a source in the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) only one percent of the total domestic consumers fell out of the protected category. However, the consumers on the other hand feel that the system is a fraud and is in place to loot the customers so that these electric companies can cover up their lying losses. Many customers have started containing their own data consisting of pictures and videos of their electric meters. They have even gone ahead and lodged complaints with the proof but no action has been taken so far. The government is seriously contemplating eliminating this flawed pro rata system which pushes the consumers from the protected category into the next slab despite their monthly consumption being well within the category.

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority has recently urged the government to take serious steps to correct the power generation contracts in order to provide the much needed relief to the masses after the hue and cry of the public regarding over billing. NEPRA has also ordered a detailed investigation into the pro rata system. However, the root cause for the massive electric bills can be traced back to the governments’ contracts with the independent power producers (IPPs) and generation plants.

A couple of days back Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif announced a 3-month relief period for the electricity lifeline consumers by giving a discount of Rs 50 billion claiming that this would benefit “94% of the country’s domestic consumers.” However, this relief still awaits the stamp of approval from the cabinet.

No matter how unfeeling the mechanical system of generating the electricity bills becomes, there is no denying that it will suck the last ounce of blood from the already poverty stricken majority of our country. The reliefs have been announced, investigations ordered, however, what remains to be seen is the affordable prices and rightful readings of the electricity meters which are giving sleepless nights to Bushra and numberless like her. The problem runs deeper than the 4-month old pro rata system or the fluctuating international prices of fuel and dollar rates, the contracts made with the IPPs need to be reevaluated and assessed to work in favour of the people of Pakistan and not against them. Solar systems are a renewable and sustainable source of generating electricity, the government should provide special provisions to the masses in this regard to lift this heavy weight of overbilling.