HYDERABAD: The Hyderabad circuit bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) has restrained the authorities concerned from recovering any additional charges, including fuel charge adjustment, in power bills from two petitioners.

The bench comprising Justices Mahmood A. Khan and Adnanul Karim Memon, also issued notices to the federal secretary for energy, director general of the National Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), chief executive officer of the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (Hesco), its chief financial officer and sub-divisional officer (SDO) Saddar, directing them to appear in court on Sept 28.

The order was passed on two identical petitions filed by Mohammad Humayun Khan and Mohammad Iqbal Memon.

The petitioners requested the court to declare the impugned levy of the FCA upon the petitioners as illegal. The respondents should be directed to issue revised bills of electricity to the petitioners, excluding the FCA charges.

They said the respondents should be directed to refund/adjust the FCA charges already received from them in the past 36 months.

They also prayed the court restrain the respondents from charging any illegal charges on account of the FCA.

They said that Nepra was established pursuant to Section 3 of the Regulation of Generation, Trans­mission and Distribution Electric Power Act 1997 and the act provided a set of powers which were vested in Nepra for the purpose of electricity provision to consumers.

They said that after a plain reading of the act’s provisions, it would appear that in determining tariffs and charges, Nepra was liable by law to protect right to life of people by indemnifying them against monopolistic impositions as well as exploitation.

They said contrary to the provisions of law, the federal secretary for energy illegally issued a notification dated Aug 12 regarding the FCA and then Nepra imposed the FCA on electricity consumption. They said that one of the petitioners received a bill of Rs39,511 for July 22, including Rs20,083 for electricity units’ consumption and Rs19,428 as different fee, income tax, sales tax, FCA and others.

They said that it went against the mechanism given in Chapter 6 of Consumer Service Manual issued by Nepra, and so contrary to the notifications issued by it.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2022