ISLAMABAD: The Power and Water Ministry is overcharging consumers through overbilling. It was revealed in a meeting of the National Assembly’s (NA) Sub-committee on Water and Power. The meeting was held under Acting Convener Ghulam Mustafa Shah in Pakistan Secretariat. The meeting also discussed problems faced by SEPCO and HESCO. A Water and Power Ministry official admitted that overbilling worth Rs 40 million was being done in SEPCO monthly, which has been discontinued. “We are striving hard to end more overbilling.” Kazim Ali Shah said that settlements upon settlements were wiped out during floods in Pir Kot and even then electricity bills were served on the consumers of these areas. The ministry officials told the committee that kunda system was widely used in SEPCO and HESCO and recovery level was disappointing. “All the endeavours are being made to overcome these problems. If parliamentarians extend help then these difficulties can be reined in,” he added. The committee said that enacting law is the committee’s domain and implementing these laws is the duty of law enforcers. The acting convener flayed the ministry and said that if any transformer goes out of order in rural areas it is repaired forthwith, but when transformers become dysfunctional then consumers are heavily charged and no measures are taken for repair of these defective transformers. The stealing of private transformers is on the rise as well. The transformers are taken out and then are sold out but no action is taken in this respect. The ministry representatives told the committee that action is underway against such gangs and it is doubtless to say that WAPDA employees are also involved in such thefts. As many as 60 SEPCO meter readers involved in tampering mobile reading system have been removed while XEN and SDO from Muzaffargarh and Leyyah have also been suspended. Mobile reading system is being improved in HESCO and SEPCO and efficiency will improve by 70 percent until December. About delay in installation of transformers, SEPCO told the committee that SEPCO DISCO is facing shortage of transformers and poles and it will take at least three months to overcome this deficiency. The authorities, however, admitted that they are facing difficulties in taking action against power pilferers because the WAPDA employees are involved in minting of money. The committee recommended that SEPCO and HESCO should improve their performance so that consumers could get relief and those who are not involved in power theft could get benefit.