Lahore: Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) is facing allegations of intentionally inflating electricity bills to meet unrealistic line loss targets. According to insiders, the company is under pressure to reduce line losses from 12.9% to 11.9% this year, a target that can only be achieved by overcharging consumers.
To meet the July target, LESCO is expected to overbill consumers by a staggering Rs. 9 billion. This translates to an additional burden of at least 150 million units on consumers.
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Despite a crackdown on overbilling ordered by Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, LESCO’s line losses surged to 17.9% in June. The company is now allegedly pressuring field officers to drastically reduce these losses, leading to concerns of widespread overbilling.
LESCO officials, including Chief Shahid Haider and Director of Customer Services Sarwar Mughal, are accused of putting immense pressure on lower-level staff to achieve the impossible target. This top-down pressure is filtering down to SDOs, who are being held responsible for meeting the unrealistic quota.
Consumers are bracing for another round of exorbitant electricity bills as LESCO appears more focused on meeting targets than providing relief to its customers.
