LAHORE – After depriving the consumers from gas throughout winters, Sui Northern Gas Pipelines (SNGPL) is teasing consumers by burdening their pockets through inflated bills. The consumers have no option but to pay because of a very short deadline of only two or three days to pay the bills.
An official of the company said, “The more gas is consumed, the more gas bill would be.” For instance if a consumer uses 200 units of gas then the bill will be Rs 300 but if the consumer uses 400 units then the bills will be Rs 900 instead of Rs 600. “The bill of gas triples with more gas consumption,” said the official.
According to sources, SNGPL meter readers take extra meter reading to increase company revenue. The consumers complained about high bills despite very low gas pressure throughout the month. “I checked my meter reading and came to know that actual reading was far less than that on the utility bill,” said a consumer Zulfiqar Elahi of Rehmanpura, adding that majority of locals have similar complaints.
The consumers said that they are not given enough time to lodge complaint as the bills were delivered late. Another consumer Muhammad Yaseen of Green Town said that deadline for depositing bill for February was kept 22nd of the next month so that the consumers don’t not get time to lodge a complaint or get their bills corrected.
“If we lodge a complaint and wait to get our bills corrected, then the due date will pass and we will have to pay late payment fine,” said the consumers claiming that SNGPL has deliberately given less days to pay the bill. Saleem Akhter of WAPDA Town said, “Though there was no gas pressure during the last three months, the bills are high.”
SNGPL Public Relation Officer was not available to comment on the issue despite repeated calls by Pakistan Today.
