PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has issued the stay order against the collection of four different surcharges on the electricity bills from domestic and industrial power consumers in the province.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Irshad Qaiser issued the stay order on a writ petition against the collection of different surcharges filed by around 528 users of Pakistan Textile Mills Association, CNG filling stations and other domestic users. The court also issued notices to Nepra, Pesco and Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) to submit their replies before the next hearing.
Counsels for the petitioners, Shumail Ahmad Butt and Qazi Ghulam Dastagir, submitted before the bench that industrial units and domestic users were currently paying four types of surcharges in their electricity bills including charges for the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower plant, debt, fix (repair) and equalisation. They submitted that the surcharges were implemented under Section 31 (5) of the Nepra Act.
Section 31 of the Nepra Act states: “Each distribution company shall pay the federal government such surcharges as the federal government, from time to time, may notify in respect of each unit of electric power sold to consumers and any amount paid under this subsection shall be considered as a cost incurred by the distribution company to be included in the tariff determined by the authority.”
