Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday inaugurated a new power smart app developed by the Power Division of the Ministry of Energy as part of its ‘Apna Meter, Apni Reading’ initiative.
The purpose of launching the app is to make consumers part of the system and introduce transparency in electricity billing.
The feature provides consumers the facility to take photographs of their electric meters on the due date and then upload them to the app.
It would be on the basis of that picture that electricity bills will be sent to the consumers, whose readings will be preferred to those noted down later. The purpose of the system is to get rid of overbilling and miscalculations in reading.
One of the key advantages of the Power Smart App is its potential to protect subsidy-eligible users from losing financial support due to delayed or inaccurate readings. Officials cited the example of users consuming up to 200 units of electricity, whose subsidized bills total approximately Rs 2,330. If usage rises even slightly above that threshold, the subsidy ends and the bill can jump to over Rs 8,000. Through this app, it will be possible to ensure that the beneficiaries benefit from their subsidy by providing timely readings.
It should be noted that, alongside expensive electricity, overbilling is also a major issue in the country, making it difficult for many people to pay their inflated electricity bills.
