Reference Desk — utility terms, A to Z
47 short, plain-English definitions for the regulators, charges, meter terms, and payment methods that show up across Pakistani electricity, gas, water, and internet bills. Each one links to the full explanation — the Bill Decoder, tariff guide, or a DISCO-specific page — where a deeper resource already exists.
Who runs what
DISCO (Distribution Company)
A distribution company — the entity that actually delivers electricity to your property and issues your monthly bill. Pakistan has 11: MEPCO, LESCO, FESCO, IESCO, GEPCO, PESCO, HESCO, SEPCO, QESCO, TESCO, HAZECO.
How Pakistan's electricity sector fits together →PITC (Power Information Technology Company)
The government-run platform (bill.pitc.com.pk) that generates and serves the bill for all 11 DISCOs. When CheckBills.net shows you a duplicate bill, this is where it comes from.
PITC's role explained →NEPRA (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority)
Pakistan's electricity regulator. Sets and reviews every tariff, slab rate, FPA and surcharge that ends up on your bill — DISCOs bill what NEPRA approves, they don't set rates themselves.
NEPRA's role explained →WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority)
The original state authority for power and water infrastructure. Most Pakistanis still say "WAPDA bill," but WAPDA hasn't billed residential consumers directly in over two decades — that's your DISCO's job now.
WAPDA vs your DISCO →CPPA-G (Central Power Purchasing Agency)
The body that buys electricity from generation companies and files actual fuel costs with NEPRA each month — the source data behind your FPA charge.
How CPPA-G's cost data becomes your FPA line →K-Electric (KE, KESC)
Karachi's electricity utility — the one DISCO not on PITC's network. K-Electric bills use a 13-digit consumer number and are checked at ke.com.pk, not CheckBills.net.
PMDU (Power Management Development Unit)
The escalation point for a billing or supply complaint your DISCO hasn't resolved — the step between your DISCO's helpline and NEPRA's formal complaint process.
Complaint escalation ladder, DISCO by DISCO →AEDB (Alternative Energy Development Board)
The federal board that processes net metering applications for rooftop solar owners after installation.
Net metering application process →Bill & meter terms
Unit (kWh) (kWh, kilowatt-hour)
The billing measure of electricity — one unit is the energy a 1,000-watt load uses in one hour. Every slab, tariff and surcharge on your bill is priced per unit.
How units consumed is calculated →Reference Number
The 10–14 digit code that identifies your meter to PITC — the only number CheckBills.net needs to look up your bill.
Full explanation & where to find it →Meter Number
The serial number stamped on the physical meter, used to confirm a bill matches the meter installed at your property.
Full explanation →Duplicate Bill
The copy of your bill retrieved from PITC using your reference number — identical data to the original printed bill, and accepted anywhere the original would be.
Open a duplicate bill →Detection Bill
A corrective bill issued after a DISCO finds a meter fault, tampering, or a sustained mis-reading — it recalculates and bills the affected period based on the corrected consumption, separate from your normal monthly cycle.
What to do about an unexpected or corrective bill →Sanctioned Load
The maximum load (in kW) your DISCO has formally approved for your connection — set at the time of connection or a later load change, and used to size the service line and meter.
Changing your sanctioned load →Connected Load
The total load of every appliance and fixture actually wired to your connection — distinct from sanctioned load, which is the approved ceiling, not what's physically connected.
Changing your sanctioned load →Demand Notice
The document a DISCO issues after a new-connection survey, itemising the fees (service line, poles, transformer share, security deposit) you must pay before installation proceeds.
What a demand notice covers →Bidirectional Meter (Green Meter)
A meter that records electricity flowing both ways — import from the grid and export from your solar system — required for net metering.
Net metering explained →Tariff & charges
Tariff
The rate category and pricing structure your connection is billed under — domestic, commercial, industrial or agricultural.
Full tariff & slab guide →Slab
A consumption bracket (e.g. 101–200 units) with its own per-unit price — Pakistan's residential tariff is priced in slabs, not a flat rate.
Slab benefit & slab jumps explained →Protected Consumer
A residential consumer who stayed at or under 200 units every month for the last six months, and so qualifies for lower slab rates.
Full protected vs unprotected guide →Unprotected Consumer
A residential consumer who exceeded 200 units in any one of the last six months — billed at the higher slab schedule for the following six cycles.
Full protected vs unprotected guide →FPA (Fuel Price Adjustment)
A monthly NEPRA-approved surcharge or refund reconciling actual fuel costs against the tariff baseline — the main reason your bill total moves month to month.
Full FPA explainer →TRS (Tariff Rationalization Surcharge)
A NEPRA-set surcharge that equalises tariffs across DISCOs, so profitable regions effectively subsidise loss-making ones.
TRS and other surcharges explained →GST (General Sales Tax)
Federal sales tax applied to the energy charge plus FPA and surcharges — a percentage, so it moves with everything above it on the bill.
Full explanation →LPS (Late Payment Surcharge)
The penalty added once the due date passes — the gap between "Amount Payable" and "Amount After Due Date" on the bill.
Full explanation →Meter Rent
A small fixed monthly charge for the meter hardware, unrelated to how much electricity you used.
Full explanation →TV Fee (PTV Fee)
A fixed monthly fee collected on behalf of Pakistan Television Corporation, charged regardless of TV ownership.
Full explanation →Arrears
Unpaid balance from a previous bill, carried forward on top of the current month's charges.
Full explanation →Adjustment
A correction line — positive or negative — applied after a reading correction, detection bill, or billing error on a past bill.
Full explanation →TOU (Time-of-Use)
A meter and tariff type that prices electricity differently by time of day — mainly used for commercial/industrial connections, not standard residential ones.
Tariff categories explained →Peak Hours
The higher-priced window on a TOU tariff, commonly early evening — electricity costs more during this window than off-peak hours.
Tariff categories explained →Off-Peak Hours
The lower-priced window on a TOU tariff — everything outside the peak window, where the same unit costs less.
Tariff categories explained →Connections & programs
CSS Program (Cross Subsidy Scheme)
The PITC portal (css.pitc.com.pk) where eligible protected consumers formally register for the subsidised lifeline tariff — protected status alone doesn't enrol you.
Eligibility & how to register →ENC Service (Electronic New Connection)
The online system (enc.pitc.com.pk) for applying for a new connection, tracking an application, and paying a demand notice, across all 11 DISCOs.
ENC services directory →Net Metering
NEPRA's scheme letting rooftop solar owners export surplus generation to the grid, offsetting import units on the bill via a bidirectional meter.
Net metering explained in full →Payment methods
JazzCash
Mobile wallet app for bill payment by reference number, also reachable via *786# without a smartphone.
Full JazzCash payment guide →Easypaisa
Mobile payment service for bill payment by reference number, also reachable via *786#.
Full Easypaisa payment guide →1Link
Pakistan's interbank network — enables bill payment through ATMs and internet banking nationwide.
ATM & bank app payment guide →NayaPay
A digital wallet that supports DISCO bill payment by reference number, alongside JazzCash and Easypaisa.
All payment methods →SadaPay
A digital wallet with bill-payment support for Pakistani utility bills, including electricity.
All payment methods →Other utilities
SNGPL (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines)
The gas utility serving Punjab and KPK. Bills use an 11-digit consumer number, distinct from an electricity reference number.
Check an SNGPL bill →SSGC (Sui Southern Gas Company)
The gas utility serving Sindh and Balochistan, including Karachi. Not currently checkable on CheckBills.net — use ssgc.com.pk.
WASA (Water and Sanitation Agency)
The provincial water utility covering major Punjab cities — Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Gujranwala each have their own WASA.
Check a WASA water bill →KWSB (Karachi Water and Sewerage Board)
Karachi's water and sewerage utility — the equivalent of WASA for Karachi specifically.
Check a KWSB water bill →Nayatel
A fibre-to-the-home ISP covering Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and other cities.
Check a Nayatel bill →StormFiber
A fibre ISP operating in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad and other major cities.
Check a StormFiber bill →Related resources
Bill Decoder · Tariff & slab guide · Bill problems & troubleshooting · How Pakistan's power sector works