How to Disconnect Your Electricity Temporarily for Up to 11 Months in Pakistan

You can ask your electricity company in Pakistan to disconnect your supply temporarily for up to 11 months. Fixed and minimum charges stop for the period, and the company must cut supply within 4 working days of your written request. You must clear the final bill first.

A house left empty for a long trip abroad still gets a bill. Fixed charges keep running on a meter that records nothing. NEPRA's rulebook has a way to stop them, but few people know it exists.

We read clauses 8.3 and 8.4 of NEPRA's revised Consumer Service Manual on 7 October 2026. It covers who can use temporary disconnection, what it costs, and the trap at the end of the period.

Clear the final bill first

Clause 8.3.1 sets the condition. You must have paid the final bill up to the day before the date you want the disconnection. There must be no arrears and no deferred amount. A house with unpaid instalments does not qualify until they are cleared. If you are paying in parts, the rules for paying a bill in instalments show how to finish them first.

Ask the sub division for the final bill to the date you plan to leave. A meter reading on that date is part of it.

Fixed charges stop for the period of disconnection

Clause 8.3.2 says exemption from minimum and fixed charges is allowed for the actual period of disconnection. For a family travelling for six months, that is six months of fixed charges not paid. The saving is the whole point.

The manual allows a maximum of eleven months in one go. The company must disconnect within four working days of receiving your written request, and the revenue officer must put a temporary disconnection code, called T-Disc, on the bill.

Reconnection is free if you come back in time

Clause 8.3.3 says no reconnection fee is charged if you apply within seven days after the disconnection period expires. The company must restore supply within four working days after you finish the formalities. You must submit a fresh test report, which is the wiring certificate. The documents for a connection and the demand notice explain where the test report comes from.

Charges restart when the period ends, even if you are away

This is the trap. Clause 8.3.4 says that after the period you chose ends, minimum and fixed charges apply even if you do not apply for reconnection and use no electricity. If you then fail to pay those bills, the company can disconnect and remove the equipment after notice. Getting supply back then follows the normal reconnection policy, and fixed charges for the whole period of disconnection become payable.

So choose the period carefully. If you may return late, ask for the full eleven months. Set a reminder a month before it ends.

Apply in five steps

1. Get the final bill. Ask for it up to the date you want the supply off.
2. Pay it and clear all arrears. Keep the paid copy.
3. Write your request. We suggest addressing it to your sub divisional office, since clause 8.3.5 makes the SDO responsible for the site. State the period, up to eleven months, and ask for a stamped copy of the request.
4. Decide about the meter. By default the equipment stays on site and you keep it safe. If you ask in writing for the company to remove it, the company keeps it safe but charges 10 percent of the material's cost for removal and refitting, through a demand notice.
5. Confirm the T-Disc code. Check the next bill shows the code and no fixed charges.

The manual does not name the exact office or form for this request, beyond a "written request" and the SDO's role. We could not verify a company's own form, so ask the sub division what it uses.

Solar homes and repeat requests have limits

A consumer with a second source of supply, such as a captive plant or a solar system, is not allowed temporary disconnection. If your house has panels, ask the company whether your net metering or other arrangement blocks it.

A second temporary disconnection straight after the first needs one month of fixed and variable charges paid in between. That is clause 8.3 as it stands today. NEPRA has proposed to change what happens at the end of the period. Under its proposal, you would have to approach the company before the period ends, or the connection would be treated as reconnected from the next day. The full list of changes is in the report on the proposed manual amendments. Until NEPRA approves and notifies them, the current rules above apply.

Temporary and permanent disconnection are not the same

If you are leaving for good, clause 8.4 gives a different route. You apply to the load sanctioning officer, who arranges the final bill. After payment he issues a permanent disconnection order and the meter is removed. The security deposit refund is tied to that permanent route, not to a temporary one.

If you are only moving to another house, a change of name on the bill or a new connection may suit better.

Common questions

How long can I disconnect my electricity temporarily?

Up to eleven months, under clause 8.3 of NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual.

Do I pay fixed charges during a temporary disconnection?

No. Minimum and fixed charges are not charged for the actual period of disconnection. They restart when the period ends.

How fast does the company disconnect?

Within four working days of receiving your written request.

Is there a fee to reconnect?

No reconnection fee if you apply within seven days after the period expires. Supply returns within four working days of the formalities, and you need a fresh test report.

Does my security deposit come back?

No. The deposit stays with the company in a temporary disconnection. The refund is tied to permanent disconnection.

Can I use this with solar panels at home?

No. A consumer with a second source of supply, such as solar, cannot use temporary disconnection.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 7 October 2026. We read NEPRA's revised Consumer Service Manual, issued to all distribution companies on 26 November 2025, as published on GEPCO's website: clauses 8.3 and 8.4. The proposed change to clause 8.3 comes from NEPRA's notice of 25 September 2026, which we summarised in the linked report, and it is not in force. The manual does not say which form to use or who receives the written request, so we have not stated a form. We did not apply for a temporary disconnection ourselves, and companies may ask for extra papers.