LAHORE: A team from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has completed its examination of records and conducted field visits related to meter readings and units charged as part of its ongoing investigation into overbilling by various field formations of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco).

According to sources, the Nepra team is now stationed at the headquarters of the Multan Electric Power Company to continue its probe.

An official informed Dawn that the team scrutinised the records and cross-checked them with the bills of consumers. The team also inspected meter readings and downloaded data from several meters to verify the accuracy of the billing process.

Earlier this year, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) launched an investigation into widespread consumer complaints of overbilling by Lesco in Lahore, Kasur, Okara, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib and other regions. In April, the Interior Ministry said the FIA had uncovered evidence of Lesco overbilling consumers by 830 million units in the previous year. As part of its inquiry, the FIA arrested two Lesco executive engineers.

The FIA also disclosed that Lesco had overbilled consumers who used as few as 300 units. Following these actions, Lesco officers staged a strike, condemning the investigations as harassment.

Recently, the FIA claimed to have provided relief worth Rs39 billion to consumers during its campaign against overbilling this year.

Meanwhile, Lesco Chief Executive Officer Engineer Shahid Haider held a meeting to address corruption within the company.

He directed all officers to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against corruption to restore customer trust. He urged superintending engineers, executive engineers and sub-division officers to provide full assistance to customers visiting Lesco offices to ensure they face no issues.

In addition, Lesco teams detected 453 connections involved in electricity theft across five districts during the last 24 hours of their anti-power theft campaign.

According to a Lesco spokesman, 136 FIR applications have been submitted, resulting in the registration of 136 FIRs, and 14 people have been arrested.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024