Ombudsman directs for change in power and gas bill payment date

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Ombudsman (Wafaqi Mohtasib) directed the public utility companies operating in Pakistan to fix the due date for consumers to pay their bills up to the seventh day instead of the last dates of each month. The directives were issued by Federal Ombudsman while hearing public complaints against maladministration of various power and gas supply companies and added that the bills should be distributed at least ten days ahead of the due date. The written complaints said that the due date for payment of bills are being fixed on the last dates of the month and unable to pay the bills on time, resulting in disconnection due to non-payment of bills, for no fault of their own. They said this creates hardship for the low income groups and the salaried class, who received their remunerations during the first week of the month. Besides the consumer are also subjected to payment of surcharges on overdue payments, which seems unjustified, the complainants added. The Federal Ombudsman was further told that the bills were usually delivered at various shops and other locations by the distributors and the consumers are expected to collect them. The Ombudsman's office observed if the bills were not delivered in a proper manner, it constituted as an act of maladministration on the part of the utility companies. Giving its verdict the Federal Ombudsman directed the Chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Chief Executive Officer of K-Electric and the Managing Directors of Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to personally look into the matter and to issue specific instructions for making changes in the issuance and due dates for the utility bills while also rectifying the distribution system. The heads of the companies have also been asked to report the compliance within a period of one month.