This is the second time that through the courtesy of your esteemed columns I dare lodge my protest against PEPCO/WAPDA’s illegal act of robbing people under the cover of fuel adjustment charges. My electricity bill for May 2012 showed the ‘total cost of electricity’ as Rs, 13253. While the payable amount was Rs. 22960, the ‘extras’ included Rs. 6520. as ‘Fuel Price Adjustment’. Surprisingly these adjustment charges pertained to the month of September 2011. The illegal charges through which WAPDA robs the consumers of billions of rupees is perhaps meant to cover the loss suffered by the department on account of its own incompetence, inefficiency and corruption.
Discussing the issue from purely business point of view let us say that WAPDA are the ‘sellers’ while the consumers are the ‘buyers’. The sellers sold their product in the market at the price which suited them. The buyers paid the price in full, got a proper receipt (paid up bill) and consumed the item. After a sound sleep of seven months the sellers woke up to find that they did not calculate the sale price correctly and sold the product at a price less than its cost. Obviously the buyers cannot be held responsible for it. A news item which appeared in an Urdu daily mentioned that, taking notice of such previous cases the Islamabad High Court had already issued a stay order on the subject. Being a clear violation of court orders this charge is illegal. I humbly request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take notice of WAPDA’s cruelty towards its consumers and direct the department to refund in the next bill, the amount fraudulently charged from them  under ‘fuel adjustment charges’.
RAFI NASIM,
Lahore, June 7.