Electricity bill decoder — every field, explained

Identity & account

The numbers that identify your connection, meter, and account — not your consumption.

• Reference Number (Reference No.) — The 10–14 digit code printed at the top of your bill that identifies your meter to PITC's billing system — the only thing CheckBills.net needs to look up your bill.
• Consumer Number (Consumer No. / A/C No.) — Your DISCO's internal account identifier — distinct from the reference number PITC uses for bill lookups, and the number DISCO staff will usually ask for at a subdivision office.
• Meter Number (Meter No.) — The serial number physically stamped or printed on the meter itself — used to confirm the bill matches the meter installed at your property, not to look up a bill.

Billing period

The dates that define which month you're being billed for, and how long you have to pay.

• Billing Month (Billing Month / Month) — The calendar month this bill's consumption and charges apply to — not necessarily the month you're paying in.
• Issue Date (Issue Date / Bill Date) — The date the bill was generated and released for payment — the starting point the due date is calculated from.
• Due Date (Due Date) — The last date to pay the amount shown without a late payment surcharge being added.

Meter reading & consumption

The two readings your bill is calculated from, and the units figure they produce.

• Previous Reading (Previous Reading) — The meter's display value at the end of the last billing cycle — the starting point for this month's units calculation.
• Current Reading (Current Reading) — The meter's display value at the end of this billing cycle. Current minus previous, times any multiplier, gives the units billed.
• Units Consumed (Units / Units Consumed / kWh) — Current reading minus previous reading, in kWh — the single number that decides which tariff slab you're billed at.

Taxes, duties & surcharges

The government- and NEPRA-mandated additions stacked on top of the energy charge.

• FPA (Fuel Price Adjustment) (FPA / F.P.A.) — A per-unit surcharge or refund NEPRA approves monthly to reconcile actual fuel costs with the reference cost built into tariffs — it can be positive or negative, and it's identical for every consumer in a tariff category regardless of DISCO.
• GST (GST) — Federal General Sales Tax applied to the energy charge plus FPA and surcharges — a percentage, not a fixed amount, so it moves with everything above it on the bill.
• Electricity Duty (ED) (E. Duty / ED) — A provincial government levy, typically a small percentage of the base tariff, collected by the DISCO on the province's behalf.
• TV Fee (TV Fee / PTV Fee) — A fixed monthly fee collected on behalf of Pakistan Television Corporation, charged regardless of whether the household owns a television.
• N.J. (Neelum-Jhelum) Surcharge (N.J. Surcharge) — A per-unit surcharge funding the Neelum-Jhelum hydropower project's financing, applied to most consumer categories nationwide.
• FC (Financing Cost) Surcharge (F.C. Surcharge) — A per-unit surcharge that funds financing costs tied to the power sector's accumulated circular debt.
• Meter Rent (Meter Rent) — A small fixed monthly charge for the meter hardware itself, unrelated to how much electricity you used.
• Service Charges (Service Charges) — A fixed administrative charge some tariff categories carry, separate from meter rent and separate from usage-based energy charges.

Adjustments & carried-forward amounts

Lines that move money between billing cycles rather than pricing this month's units.

• Arrears (Arrears / Previous Balance) — Unpaid balance from a previous bill, carried forward and added on top of this month's charges.
• Adjustment (Adjustment / Adj.) — A correction line — positive or negative — applied when a past bill needs to be revised, most often after a meter reading correction or a billing error.
• Subsidy (Subsidy / CSS Subsidy) — A discount applied to the bill for consumers verified under a specific subsidy scheme — most commonly the Cross Subsidy Program for low-consumption protected households.
• Credit (Credit / Cr.) — An amount owed back to you rather than by you — from an overpayment, a negative FPA month, or a billing correction in your favour.

Totals & status

What you actually owe, by when, and the tariff status that decided your rate.

• Tariff / Tariff Category (Tariff / Tariff Code (e.g. A-1, A-2, C-1)) — The rate category your connection is billed under — domestic, commercial, industrial, or agricultural — which sets the per-unit price and whether slabs or a flat rate apply.
• Protected Status (Protected / Unprotected (near tariff code)) — A marker showing whether your six-month consumption history qualifies you for lower residential slab rates — recalculated by the DISCO every month.
• Payable Amount (Amount Payable / Payable Amount) — The total due if paid on or before the due date — every charge, tax, surcharge, arrears and adjustment added together, before any late payment surcharge.
• Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) (LPS / Surcharge for Late Payment) — A percentage added to the payable amount once the due date has passed — the difference between "Amount Payable" and "Amount After Due Date" on the bill.

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