ISLAMABAD: The federal Ministry of Energy’s Power Division has started working on a new proposal aimed at reducing the financial burden on non-protected domestic electricity consumers.
According to sources, authorities are considering changes to the existing protected-consumer mechanism to address its shortcomings and prevent households from facing unnecessarily high electricity bills after a temporary increase in consumption.
Under the current system, a protected consumer who exceeds 200 units of electricity consumption in any one month during the year immediately loses protected status. As a result, even if the household reduces its electricity usage in subsequent months, it can remain subject to higher tariff rates for the next five months.
Under the proposed changes, this rule would be revised. If a consumer’s electricity usage exceeds 200 units in a particular month, the higher billing rate would apply only to that month.
The consumer would then be able to return to the protected tariff category in the following months, provided their electricity consumption remains within the prescribed limit.
The proposed mechanism is intended to provide relief to low- and middle-income households and prevent a temporary increase in electricity consumption from resulting in higher bills for several consecutive months.
