The North Karachi Association of Trade and Industry has rejected the proposed average bills of K-Electric for the month of April 2020 and that the industrialists and traders will pay genuine bills generated only on the units consumed by them.
“Industrialists will not pay ad-hoc bills on average billing and but generated according to the units used in their industries,” NKATI statement said.
This decision came through a unanimously approved resolution in an emergency meeting of the association chaired by its President Muhammad Nasim Akhtar, who has also sent a letter to Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, informing him of the problems facing the industrialist community due to the lockdown for preventing spread of COVID-19. The statement said that industries had been shut down for past three weeks.
Karachi’s industrialists were already facing serious cash flow problem. Thus, during this difficult time, K-Electric’s announcement for average billing in the month of April 2020 would add to the Karachi business community. “Despite closure of industries, average billing is very unfair as the industries are not using electricity due to shut down. Why should the industries pay for unused electricity?” the association’s leadership questioned.
KATI President Muhammad Nasim Akhtar in his letter has informed the Sindh Governor that K-Electric had installed smart meters in all industrial units, which did not require meter reading, hence smart metering can be done through the system. On the contrary, K-Electric was using average billing tactic to meet its revenue target.
