Karachi, 30th April 2017: In response to baseless allegations being pushed from some quarters, K-Electric has re-iterated that it refutes any claims of overbilling including falsely proclaimed Rs 62 billion, declaring them as baseless. These claims have already been completely rejected after detailed review by the Competent Authorities.
The power utility strongly condemns misinformation and unfounded allegations being spread by certain individuals, which has mainly emerged after the drive against power theft and illegal abstraction.
With regards to the cost of electricity, the Government has implemented a “Uniform Tariff Policy” across Pakistan, including Karachi.
All billing is done as per regulatory processes and guidelines. KE offers a wide range of customer care touch points from call center, live chat via SMS, 24/7 operational social media, centralized handling of complaints via web, dedicated customer care offices in 29 IBCs to mobilizing mobile vans across the city to facilitate consumers at their doorstep. Further, under the law consumers have various forums available for raising billing or other complaints including Electric Inspector, Federal Ombudsman, honorable courts and NEPRA.
During the past six months, out of 15 million bills generated by the utility, only 0.07% were referred and heard by the Federal Ombudsman, where 83% cases were decided in favor and or settled in favor of KE. It is pertinent to mention that all cases were not limited to billing. The remaining cases not in favor makes only 0.01% of the total billing during the same period by K Electric, and is considerably low given any operational standards for power utilities.
K-Electric has invested significantly on technological up gradation including implementation of SAP IS-U, the world’s leading system for billing and use of handheld devices for meter reading which ensures efficiency, eliminates human intervention and creates transparency. KE has also been endorsed by various national and regional stakeholders for ensuring best practices of disclosure and transparency in its reporting.
The power utility reiterated that its prime responsibility is to serve the people of Karachi. KE has also intensified the overall drive against power theft and illegal abstraction, and Installation of kunda-resistant Aerial Bundled Cables (ABC), which is a novel concept for power distribution guaranteeing both safety and higher system efficiencies around the world. The same is one of the major reasons of current backlash from certain quarters. K-Electric has converted around 2,200 PMTs into ABC, which has resulted in noticeable reduction of power theft and hence load shedding in many areas. The power utility continues to have a vision of load shed free city and requests the community at large to help curb the menace of theft to help achieve this vision.