Islamabad:
`Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif officially launched the Smart mobile application” Apna Reading “” Apna Reading “, a new initiative designed to improve transparency in electricity billing. The application allows consumers to register their own meters readings and send them directly to their respective energy distribution companies.
“We implemented reforms in the electricity sector, but we have a long way to go. We brought quotations based on merits to the disco joints and take strong measures against the corrupt mafia,” he said.
The prime minister made these comments in a ceremony to launch the application “Apna Enter, Apna Reading”.
The initiative seeks to gradually eliminate the role of meters readers in energy distribution (disc) companies throughout the country, addressing generalized dissatisfaction among consumers. According to the current rat producing system, many consumers move from the ‘protected category’ or move to the highest billing slabs, resulting in higher electricity positions.
The Prime Minister said that the initiative is a revolutionary step carried out by the Government as part of the energy sector reforms during the past year.
He pointed out that the Minister of Energy made strict efforts and maintained difficult negotiations with independent energy producers (IPP) who finally led to the reduction of electricity prices at RS7.5 per unit.
“We carry out the circular debt after negotiations with banks. When global oil prices were falling, we took advantage and reduced the prices of electricity,” he said, added that despite the concerns, the government made the difficult decision to bounce prices and not approve the load to consumers.
The prime minister announced that the Pakistan television rate (PTV) will be abolished by electricity invoices. Consumers are currently charged the monthly PTV RS35 rate through electricity invoices.
He pointed out that the greatest challenge is the theft of power that is worth RS500bn annually, and efforts are being made to stop the threat.
He stressed that the government will not discourage solar energy, since it is the cheapest form of electricity. “Pakistan is one of the countries with the greatest growth in the production of solar energy,” he said.
The prime minister observed that the main beneficiary of this application will be energy consumers. “It is a revolutionary technology, it will benefit all consumers in each home,” and added that the energy division should raise awareness among consumers to use the application, which has been introduced into five languages.
The Federal Energy Minister Awais Ahmed Leghari, also spoke on the occasion and said that the initiative aims to give the responsibility of the meters reader to consumers.
He pointed out that energy consumers under the ‘protected category’ consumed less than 100 units received higher invoices due to delayed or defective meters reading. He said that the government returned RS10 billion in excessive quantities last year and efforts are being made to guarantee transparency in the billing process.
In a previous statement, the Energy Division said that the new feature allows electricity consumers to take a photo of their electricity meter on a specific date and upload it to the application, depending on which its monthly bill will be issued.
The objective of this system is to provide an effective solution to long -standing problems, such as overvaluation, reading errors and reading delay.
“This is not only a technological characteristic, but a concrete reform in the government, which really empowers consumers. With this system, consumers will not only be able to monitor their invoices, but now they will also be the guardians of the reading process,” he added.
If the user provides the reading on the expiration date, the meter reading taken after that day will not be priority, and only the reading provided by the user will be fed.
