Islamabad: In a major step toward digital governance and transparency in the energy sector, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif officially launched the Power Smart Mobile App titled “My Meter, My Reading”, aimed at empowering electricity consumers and addressing the chronic issue of overbilling.
Speaking at the official launch ceremony, the Prime Minister said modernizing public institutions and digitizing services remain a top priority for his government. He described the launch of the app as a “revolutionary reform” in the power sector, highlighting that the existing meter reading system had been "ruined at the hands of manual meter readers.”
The newly introduced app enables electricity consumers to submit their own meter readings by uploading a picture of the meter on a specified date. The government says this will be the basis for monthly billing, ensuring accuracy, transparency, and timely readings—resolving longstanding problems such as inflated bills, delayed readings, and manual errors.
“This is not merely a technological upgrade, but a concrete governance reform,” said a spokesperson from the Ministry of Energy, adding that the app allows consumers to monitor their own bills and actively participate in the reading process.
A standout feature of the system ensures that if a consumer submits their reading on the scheduled date, that reading will take precedence over any later reading taken by a meter reader.
This initiative is particularly beneficial for subsidized electricity users. According to the Ministry, a household consuming up to 200 units receives a monthly bill of around PKR 2,330. However, if the usage exceeds this limit by even a single unit, the subsidy is revoked, and the bill can surge to PKR 8,104. With this app, eligible users can ensure timely reading submissions and retain their subsidies.
In a related development, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced the removal of the PTV license fee from electricity bills, a move expected to provide significant relief. Previously, consumers across the country were charged PKR 35 monthly, generating nearly PKR 1.5 billion from over 40 million consumers.
The Energy Ministry emphasized that such digital tools are part of a broader transparency drive and aim to give consumers greater control and oversight over their energy usage and billing—marking a meaningful shift in citizen-centric governance.
