### Empowering Consumers: Pakistan's New App to Tackle Electricity Billing Issues In a significant move towards enhancing transparency in electricity billing, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched the 'Apna Meter, Apna Reading' mobile application on June 29, 2025. This initiative allows consumers to take their own meter readings and submit them directly to power companies, effectively phasing out traditional meter readers. The app aims to address long-standing issues of overbilling and miscalculations in electricity bills, while also abolishing the PTV fee from electricity bills, thereby reducing the financial burden on consumers. The initiative is part of broader reforms in the power sector aimed at improving efficiency and accountability [https://dailytimes.com.pk/1325742/pm-launches-power-app-to-curb-overbilling-abolishes-ptv-fee][https://www.dawn.com/news/1921004/pm-launches-app-that-allows-power-users-to-send-their-meter-readings]. ### Structure of the Initiative and Its Implications 1. **Launch of the App**: The 'Apna Meter, Apna Reading' app was officially inaugurated to empower consumers by allowing them to submit their own meter readings, thus promoting transparency in billing [https://www.nation.com.pk/29-Jun-2025/pm-inaugurates-apna-meter-apni-reading-app]. 2. **Abolition of PTV Fee**: Alongside the app launch, the Prime Minister announced the removal of the PTV license fee from electricity bills, which is expected to alleviate some financial pressure on consumers [https://24newshd.tv/29-Jun-2025/power-smart-app-introduced-to-get-rid-of-overbilling]. 3. **Consumer Empowerment**: The app enables users to take photographs of their meter readings and upload them, ensuring that their submitted readings are prioritized over those recorded by meter readers [https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2025/06/29/government-launches-power-smart-app-for-electricity-meter-readings]. 4. **Addressing Overbilling**: This initiative is particularly aimed at curbing overbilling practices and miscalculations, which have been a significant concern for consumers [https://24newshd.tv/29-Jun-2025/power-smart-app-introduced-to-get-rid-of-overbilling]. 5. **Broader Reforms in the Power Sector**: The launch is part of a series of reforms in the power sector, including negotiations with independent power producers to reduce electricity prices and improve service delivery [https://www.nation.com.pk/29-Jun-2025/pm-inaugurates-apna-meter-apni-reading-app]. ### Supporting Evidence and Data - **App Features**: The app is designed to be user-friendly, available in five languages, and allows consumers to submit readings via photographs, which will be used to generate their bills [https://www.nation.com.pk/29-Jun-2025/pm-inaugurates-apna-meter-apni-reading-app]. - **Financial Impact**: The removal of the PTV fee from electricity bills is expected to provide financial relief to consumers, although specific figures on the total savings have not been disclosed [https://24newshd.tv/29-Jun-2025/power-smart-app-introduced-to-get-rid-of-overbilling]. - **Consumer Participation**: The initiative encourages consumer participation in the billing process, which is anticipated to enhance accountability and reduce instances of electricity theft, which has been a significant issue costing the government billions [https://dailytimes.com.pk/1325742/pm-launches-power-app-to-curb-overbilling-abolishes-ptv-fee]. ### Conclusion: A Step Towards Transparency and Efficiency The launch of the 'Apna Meter, Apna Reading' app represents a **transformative step** in Pakistan's electricity billing system, aiming to empower consumers and enhance transparency. The key findings from this initiative include: 1. **Consumer Empowerment**: The app allows users to take control of their billing process, potentially reducing overbilling incidents. 2. **Financial Relief**: The abolition of the PTV fee is expected to ease the financial burden on consumers. 3. **Reform in the Power Sector**: This initiative is part of broader reforms aimed at improving the efficiency and accountability of the power sector. Overall, these measures are designed to foster a more transparent and consumer-friendly electricity billing system in Pakistan [https://dailytimes.com.pk/1325742/pm-launches-power-app-to-curb-overbilling-abolishes-ptv-fee][https://www.dawn.com/news/1921004/pm-launches-app-that-allows-power-users-to-send-their-meter-readings].