Panel to probe Nepra report on over-billing
Perturbed over the power regulator’s inquiry indicting distribution companies (Discos) of malpractices and over-billing in the provision of electricity, the Power Division on Wednesday constituted another ‘independent and impartial committee’ to probe the findings and legalities of the Nepra report. The inquiry committee, constituted by the Power Division secretary to probe the Nepra’s inquiry report, will be led by former power secretary Irfan Ali. It comprises Zargham Ishaq Khan, who heads Nespak (a company working under the Power Division), Abid Lodhi, a former executive of public sector power companies, and Dr Fiaz Chaudhry, ex-managing director of National Transmission & Dispatch Company (NTDC) currently working with Lahore University of Management Sciences. The Nepra inquiry had found about 14 million domestic consumers across the country to have been charged for more than 30 days by all the power companies, while millions of others had been over-billed through a number of other unfair techniques. Besides, millions of other consumers have been wrongly charged for defective meters.