Your supply has been disconnected for non-payment

Why this happens

Non-payment across two cycles

Disconnection normally follows the second unpaid bill rather than the first, so roughly forty to sixty days past the original due date, after a notice.

An unpaid detection or assessed charge

Unless a dispute has been formally registered, an unpaid assessment is treated like any other arrears for disconnection purposes.

Disconnection at the wrong meter

It happens, particularly on multi-meter boards. If your account is clear, this is an urgent complaint rather than a payment problem.

A dormant duplicate account

Where a second, forgotten account against the premises has accrued fixed charges for years, the notice and the disconnection can arrive against a connection you did not know existed.

What to do, in order

1. Confirm the amount actually required. Total outstanding including surcharge, plus the reconnection fee. Ask for the figure at the counter or from the retrieved bill rather than guessing — an underpayment stops the reconnection order.
2. Pay through the fastest posting channel available. A bank app or wallet posts within 24 to 48 hours; a branch counter can take three working days. On a disconnection, that difference is the whole outcome.
3. Take the receipt to the sub-divisional office in person. Do not wait for the system to notice. Present the receipt and ask for the reconnection order to be issued against it today.
4. Get the reconnection order number. It is what the field crew works from, and it is what you quote when following up. A promise without a number is not a reconnection.
5. If you cannot pay in full, ask for instalments. A sub-divisional officer can sanction a plan on written application. A part payment plus a sanctioned plan can restore supply where a demand for the full amount cannot be met.
6. If your account is clear, treat it as a wrong disconnection. Produce the paid receipts immediately and ask for restoration and for the reconnection fee to be waived. Wrong disconnection is a service failure, and it is worth putting in writing even after supply returns.

What to take with you

• The payment receipt
• The bill or the outstanding statement
• CNIC
• Any registered dispute, where the amount is contested

Temporary disconnection is a different thing entirely

A consumer can apply for temporary disconnection of a property that will be empty for a long period. That stops meter rent, the television fee and other fixed charges accruing month after month on an unused connection.

It is worth doing for a house left vacant for a season or longer. Reconnection afterwards is an application and a fee, and it is generally cheaper than the fixed charges that would have accrued meanwhile.

If it stalls, escalate in this order

1. Sub-divisional officer for the reconnection order
2. Executive engineer if supply is not restored within the published period after payment
3. NEPRA for wrongful disconnection or for failure to restore after payment

Attach the earlier stamped applications at each rung. Starting the story again from the beginning at every level is the slowest possible way to escalate.

Frequently asked questions

Related problems

• Arrears have appeared on a bill you always paid — There is a previous balance on my bill but I have every receipt.
• You have been issued a detection bill — A large charge for past months has appeared on my bill after an inspection.
• You have been billed twice, or hold two bills for one meter — Two different bills arrived for what I am certain is one connection.
• You were charged a late payment surcharge despite paying on time — I paid before the due date but the next bill still charged me the surcharge.

Background reading

• Fastest-posting payment channels
• Complaint and escalation contacts