Revision of ‘due date’ needed

Islamabad : Utility bills are received by every family living in the country - except by those who are stealing electricity and gas and even water. So why can’t the utility service providers issue bills with a due date that falls in the beginning of the month instead of at the end? This causes a lot of problems, not so much for the privileged as for the less privileged, who find it difficult to take out large sums of money from their household budget at this point, no matter how careful they are about keeping an amount aside for this purpose.

While the other providers are not as guilty about this trend - their bills usually have due dates for the middle of the month - the electricity bills always have a due date that falls at the end of the month. While the issuing date is the middle of the month, the bill takes time to be delivered and usually lands in houses after the 20th or later.

Many people do not realize that they can pay their bills anytime before the due date and do not have to wait for it to come round and that is why a rush is witnessed at bank counters on ‘due’ dates. This is another reason that makes it difficult for those who are on a limited budget to pay their bills, with the result that many of them have to pay a surcharge when they pay after they get their salaries, or when the next bill arrives. On top of that the threat of disconnection also looms over their head like the Sword of Damocles!

It’s not such a impossible thing to do but it will be instrumental in saving many families from a lot of worry if the due dates of electricity bills are moved to the beginning of the month, so hopefully it will be done.