Yes. NEPRA's rules let your distribution company (DISCO) split a bill into installments or extend its due date, but you have to ask before the due date printed on the bill. If you pay the first installment by that date, there is no markup and no late payment surcharge on it. The remaining installments carry markup at 14% a year.
How many times a year you can do this is less settled, and is explained below.
Why more people are asking this autumn
Bills have risen again. NEPRA approved a fuel charge of Rs 2.06 a unit for July consumption, added to September 2026 bills, and a quarterly adjustment of Rs 0.52 a unit on September, October and November 2026 bills. In a high-consumption month that can push a bill past what a household can pay in one go. You can see the current and past adjustments on this month's charges page.
If you miss the due date, a late payment surcharge (LPS) is added, and an unpaid bill can lead to disconnection. Those are covered in our guide to the late payment surcharge and due date and what happens when a bill goes unpaid. This guide is about what you can do before the due date passes.
What NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual says
The rules sit in NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual (CSM), which the DISCOs must follow. In the amendment NEPRA issued on 14 May 2025, they are in section 6.8, "Extension of due date for payment and installments of electricity bills". K-Electric publishes the same manual for its own consumers.
The text says DISCOs "may provide" installments and due-date extensions. That wording means you are entitled to ask. It does not mean the DISCO has to accept every request on your terms.
Due-date extension
Clause 6.8.1 says that when the due date is extended, no LPS is charged. If the bill is correct and you are only a few days short, this is the simpler request.
Installments of the current bill
Clause 6.8.2 covers a request to pay the current month's bill in installments. There is no markup and no LPS as long as the first installment is paid by the due date. The remaining installments carry markup at 14% a year.
NEPRA formally approved the 14% markup in June 2024. At the time it said DISCOs were already charging it; the amendment wrote it into the rules, and it is still in the May 2025 text.
The new computerised bill
Clause 6.8.4 says that whenever a DISCO allows installments or an extension, it must issue a computerised bill. The June 2024 change said the same: an installment arrangement must be issued as a new computerised bill.
That bill is your proof. A verbal promise from a meter reader or clerk, without a new bill, leaves the original bill and its due date in place, and LPS will be added if you miss it.
How many times a year can you ask?
This is the part to check before you rely on it.
- June 2024: NEPRA amended the CSM so that installments were allowed only once in any financial year.
- January 2025: NEPRA proposed replacing "only one time in any financial year" with "allowed by DISCOs as per their revenue requirement", and invited comments within seven days. That would leave the number to each DISCO.
- 26 November 2025: NEPRA approved a fully revised CSM for all DISCOs.
We have not been able to confirm what the revised manual's installment section says about a yearly limit. So we are not telling you the once-a-year rule still applies, and we are not telling you it has been lifted. Treat it as the 2024 rule, with a possible change since.
In practice, if you have already had a bill split this financial year, ask your DISCO directly whether you can do so again, and check the revised CSM on NEPRA's website. Be wary of anyone who quotes a fixed number of installments; we found no confirmed figure for bill installments.
What the 14% markup costs
The first installment carries no markup if you pay it on time. The markup applies to what is left.
As a rough estimate (our own arithmetic, not a NEPRA figure), 14% a year works out to about 1.17% a month. If Rs 20,000 of a bill stayed unpaid for one month at that rate, the markup would be about Rs 233.
The DISCO's own calculation will be on the computerised bill it issues, so check the figure there rather than relying on this estimate. If a short extension would be enough, it avoids LPS under clause 6.8.1 and spares you working out markup at all.
Extension or installments: which to ask for
| Due-date extension | Installments | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Moves the due date | Splits the current month's bill |
| Late payment surcharge | None when the due date is extended (clause 6.8.1) | None if the first installment is paid by the due date (clause 6.8.2) |
| 14% markup | Not part of clause 6.8.1 | On the installments after the first |
| Paperwork | New computerised bill (clause 6.8.4) | New computerised bill (clause 6.8.4) |
| When to ask | Before the due date | Before the due date |
| Suits you if | The bill is correct and you need a few more days | The bill is correct but too large for one payment |
If the bill is wrong, neither option is the right one. See the section on disputing a bill below.
How to ask
The sources we checked do not say which officer approves a request, whether that is the SDO, the XEN or a customer service centre, and they mention no fee. Go to your subdivision office or customer service centre and confirm the process with your DISCO.
- Go before the due date. Requests have to be made in advance. A NEPRA notice of proposed amendments from August 2023 also said no extension request would be considered after the due date. That notice was a proposal, but the 2024 rule points the same way: do not leave it to the last day.
- Take the bill with you. The reference number and due date are what the office will work from.
- Say exactly what you want. A due-date extension if you need days, installments if you need to spread the amount.
- Ask for the new computerised bill. Clause 6.8.4 requires the DISCO to issue one. Do not leave with only a verbal assurance.
- Pay the first installment by the original due date. That keeps it free of markup and LPS.
- Pay each later installment against the new bill and keep proof. A receipt or bank confirmation for every payment will matter if a later bill shows the amount as unpaid.
Mistakes that cost money
- Waiting until after the due date. LPS applies, and extensions are not given once the date has passed.
- Counting on a holiday to buy time. Under the June 2024 amendment, the due date is not extended if it falls on a holiday, and LPS is collected regardless of holidays.
- Treating a promise as a plan. Without the computerised bill, the original bill and its LPS stand.
- Using unofficial "installment plan" pages. Sites such as bijlibillcheck.pk, checkbills.pk, checkyourbill.pk and seemepcobill.pk are not official and cannot arrange installments for you. Deal only with your DISCO's office or official website.
- Assuming a special scheme exists. We found no DISCO running a special installment scheme in 2026. If someone offers one, confirm it with the DISCO first.
If the bill is wrong, dispute it instead
Paying in installments does not correct a wrong bill. If the units look too high, the meter reading does not match your meter, or you have been charged for something you do not recognise, file a complaint rather than agreeing to pay it off in parts.
Our guide to filing an overbilling complaint explains the steps, and the complaint letter gives you a ready-to-send letter in English or Urdu. Raise the complaint before the due date for the same reason you would ask for installments early.
What to do next
- Check your current bill and its due date on the bill checker using your reference number.
- Decide whether the bill is correct. If not, start a complaint; if it is, decide between an extension and installments.
- Visit your subdivision office or customer service centre before the due date and ask for the new computerised bill.
- Pay the first installment by the original due date and keep every receipt.
- If you have already had installments this financial year, ask the DISCO whether another request is allowed, and check the revised CSM on NEPRA's website.
Sources
- NEPRA – Amendment in Consumer Service Manual CSM-2021 (14-05-2025)
- NEPRA – Consumer Service Manual (CSM) Revised 2025
- NEPRA – Amendments in Consumer Service Manual (proposals, August 2023)
- K-Electric – NEPRA Consumer Services Manual (KE)
- Business Recorder – Amendments to CSM proposed: Nepra acts to enable bulk consumers to procure power
- The Nation – Nepra allows one-time power bills instalment a year (6 June 2024)
- The Nation – Power bills: Nepra considering allowing multiple installments again (21 January 2025)
- The Express Tribune – Electricity bill instalment now yearly only
- Aaj English – NEPRA introduces heavy markup for consumers paying bills in installments
- Dawn – Nepra raises electricity costs by Rs2.58 per unit (5 September 2026)
- Geo – Nepra hikes power tariff by Rs2.58 per unit