LHC declares fuel adjustment charges in power bills illegal
Lahore High Court on Monday declared fuel charge adjustments (FCA) in electricity bills as illegal while directing the government to subsidize up to 500 units for domestic consumers.
Justice Ali Baqar Najafi pronounced the reserved verdict on 3,659 petitions of Advocate Azhar Siddique and others challenging the inclusion of FCA in the power bills.
In an 81-page detailed judgment, the judge also declared quarter tariff adjustment illegal, and ordered subsidy for domestic users consuming up to 500 units.
Justice Najafi also declared illegal conversion charges from industrial tariff to commercial. He also pronounced Section 3 of the Nepra Act unconstitutional.
The court also issued a number of instructions to Nepra in this regard.
The judge ruled that domestic consumers should not be charged beyond their capacity.
The counsel for the petitioners had pleaded before the court that the government disregarded rules and regulations and illegally imposed FCA in bills.
They had sought the court to declare illegal the collection of FCA and all other surcharges.
After hearing arguments of both sides, Justice Najafi had reserved his verdict on Oct 10, 2022.
The court also directed the federal government to utilize alternate sources like nuclear, hydel, wind and solar to produce affordable electricity.
It ordered provision of electricity according to its demand. It also asked the federal government to create resources to purchase affordable power from other countries.
The most expensive electricity in South Asia is being produced in Pakistan, the verdict noted. This has caused a decline in the country’s exports, it observed.
