The Prime Minister and his Cabinet members are often heard saying that the electricity problem of Pakistan, namely high cost of electricity and load shedding, will end by 2017. But according to the ground reality prevailing today, their assertions appear unlikely to bear any fruit unless, of course, some kind of miracle strikes suddenly in the interim. Another important factor that needs to be corrected is the conduct of the distribution staff. A lot of WAPDA companies’ revenue may be going into private pockets. A friend of mine says that in his area here in Muzaffargarh, those who pay regular ‘monthlies’ to the concerned meter readers and run any number of air-conditioners, receive only nominal bills.
My friend, on the other hand, has only one air-conditioner but prefers to pay for actually consumed units and refuses to pay any monthlies. His meter reader does not read his meter regularly and lets the consumption units accumulate throughout the hot season so that his units pile up, subsequently amounting to tens of thousands of rupees by the end of summer because his tariff slabs keep rising with the accumulation of units. This is how the meter reader punishes my friend for his honesty.
This sort of thing is going on throughout the country and that is how WAPDA as a utility company has collapsed. Has the Prime Minister got any solution to this malicious problem?
SHAKIL AHMAD
Muzaffargarh
