In its Annual Report 2014-2015 National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) unveiled that shortfall in electricity production as compared to its demand as fake. The regulatory authority also declared that rulers were deliberately resorting to loadshedding.
It a bizarre disclosure as it was exposed that 70 percent of electricity meters were outdated which either result in financial issues for the consumers or the government.
NEPRA also lamented performance of Water and Power Ministry saying the power shortfall and loadshedding were being done deliberately. Managements of government thermal power plants have deliberately kept the power plants closed.
If meters of 70 percent consumers were outdated and out timed it means consumers were billed off-peak rates and some with peak rates. After this revelation it could be considered that meter technology which was launched a few years before for the benefit of consumers is unreliable. It means that in some cases the TOU meters help the consumers to pay less while in other cases it makes them pay more than what they had actually consumed.
Shocking revelations provided chance to the opposition to criticize performance of government. Imran Khan while bashing the government said that PML N government has clearly fed the nation lies and robbed citizens through fraudulent electricity meters and inflated bills. NEPRA Report reveals the government has been unable to rectify the dismal state of affairs of the whole power generation structure including the dilapidated state of the technical infrastructure. It was not just inefficiency but also deliberate act on part of the government that allowed plants to remain closed while unlicensed plants were allowed to continue operations. Faulty meters, wrong billing, fiddling with and violating upper and lower voltage limits, faulty operations – the NEPRA Report is a negative indictment of the power sector and its functioning along with the government and its unresponsive bureaucracy.
Helpless citizens of the country are being affected financially as 70 percent electricity meters were found outdated in NEPRA report.