UTILITY BILLING SYSTEM REFORMS: Theft of power and energy
( Natural gas and Electricity)
Pakistan has been going through a state of crisis accompanied by a variety of complex kinds of exposures that were a threat to the country’s development. Energy was one of those threats that was on its way to hit Pakistan due to its ill planning, mismanagement and mainly corruption. There were massive line losses and theft of electricity and natural gas was. Mr. Mansoor figured out that the corruption and theft was only with connivance of employees of Wapda and Sui Northern gas entities. The shortfall in revenues as a result of theft and line losses was being balanced through technical robbery by staff on accounts of honest consumers. Secondly, most of the theft of electricity and natural gas was by rich, influential, political class. Mr. Mansoor advised a strategy to control this problem.
He challenged the corrupt system and advised a remedy to stop it but court did not dispose of with definite orders to make the law giving powers to public to register cases against the employees of the providers on charging more units from honest consumers.
1999 – The billing systems of energy providers ( WAPDA & SUI NORTHERN) were challenged in higher courts by Mr. Mansoor in order to save consumers for paying unnecessary higher side price for each unit that they were not supposed to. The pricing in utility bills based on total consumption of the energy was categorized in three levels. Certain range of units were in category 1 and thereafter 2 and 3. The price for category 1 is low and subsequently 2 and 3 are of higher price than level 1 which was charged for actual units consumed but the departments always charged every consumer excess of actual units consumed, causing them to pay higher price for unit than the actual price for a low consumption consumer. In fact the method was adopted by departments in order to cover the line losses and theft that in fact falls under technical robbery. He argued that new legislation for penalizing staff for their wrong doings was required addressing such technical robbery and consumers will automatically be protected. It will control energy theft and corruption of provider’s staff if there will be a law in force of punishment for the meter readers for their malpractices. He prayed to grant a right to energy consumers of registering case of fraud and misuse of authority against meter readers in police station if they may be charged excess units of energy than actually consumed. Such manipulation in billing facilitated providers in covering line losses and covering the losses by theft of energy. The department of WAPDA and SUI NORTHERN never complied with the orders of the court to stop the practice that resulted in innocent consumers to pay for rich consumers.