The Pakistan government has recently declared that all qualifying beneficiaries of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) will receive aid through their electricity bills. This article provides an important update for all beneficiaries under the BISP. Soon, a meeting will be scheduled between K-Electric and BISP representatives to discuss essential steps to ensure smooth data transfers for all eligible households.
Electricity Bill Relief for 20 Million BISP Beneficiaries
To ease the financial strain of high electricity bills on low-income families, BISP aims to put this plan into action as quickly as possible. Following the Prime Minister’s guidance, the Ministry for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (MPA&SS) announced that BISP beneficiaries can start receiving direct subsidies through their electricity bills.
BISP has requested K-Electric to plan a meeting to develop strategies for sharing large amounts of data. K-Electric replied that this request should be routed through the Power Division, ensuring official coordination between government bodies.
Collaboration with K-Electric to Provide Subsidies
In response to the Prime Minister’s instructions, BISP has asked the Power Division to instruct K-Electric to begin joint efforts for this subsidy program. To process these subsidies effectively, BISP must share the data of around 5 million beneficiaries with the Power Information Technology Company (PITC) for verification. After verification, the Finance and Power Divisions will approve the release, ensuring qualified individuals receive the subsidy.
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Direct Subsidy Through E-Voucher System
Eligible households will get subsidies directly through electronic vouchers (E-vouchers) managed by MPA&SS. According to K-Electric, subsidies are distributed to K-Electric’s customers under government orders from the Finance and Power Divisions. For this reason, K-Electric proposed that data-sharing guidelines should be managed through these government divisions for effective processing.
E-Vouchers to Reach Consumers Through Banks
According to government announcements, BISP will be responsible for providing its data, along with beneficiary contact numbers, to the electricity providers. BISP will share data from the Poverty Management Tool (PMT) with the Power Division, which will be verified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA). After verification, these E-vouchers will be sent to the beneficiaries’ registered phone numbers by electricity providers (DISCOs) or the Power Division. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) will work with all banks to develop a system that allows beneficiaries to use E-vouchers to pay their electricity bills.
Steps for BISP Beneficiaries to Receive Subsidies
Beneficiaries can follow the steps below to collect their E-vouchers and receive subsidies from their electricity providers:
- Issuing E-vouchers: Through the PMT system, the government will identify 20 million households with active electricity connections, and then DISCOs will issue E-vouchers.
- Using E-vouchers: Beneficiaries must bring their electricity bills and E-vouchers to bill collection centers within their DISCO’s service area.
- Verification: At the collection centers, systems will verify eligibility by cross-checking the meter reference number and National ID (CNIC) information.
- Automated Matching: The Power Division’s system will automatically compare each household’s electricity consumption with BISP PMT data. This will prevent non-qualifying households from receiving subsidies.
- Recovery for Non-Deserving Households: If a household is found ineligible after verification, any undue subsidy will be adjusted in future electricity bills.
- Appeals for Exclusion: Families who feel they were unfairly excluded from subsidies can visit National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) offices to update their information for future eligibility.
- Limit on Benefits: To avoid misuse, each household will only be allowed one subsidy benefit, regardless of the number of electricity meters registered to their name.
Conclusion
The BISP electricity subsidy program, aimed at providing electricity bill relief to 20 million low-income households, is a significant effort to aid financially struggling families. By issuing direct E-vouchers to eligible families, the government aims to ease their burden. Through the collaboration between BISP, K-Electric, and other power providers, along with transparent data verification methods, this system will ensure that only qualified families receive the subsidy.