LAHORE, June 3: Most of the consumers of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) have received inflated bills for the month of May, if complaints from different parts of the city are something to go by.
It is not only the amount because of recent increase in power charges but also the number of units as compared to May last year, which was much hotter this May.
According to a Lesco employee, who refused to be named for obvious reasons, certain areas under the company have actually been overcharged. The overcharging is caused by two reasons -- yearly revenue targets and theft.
Meter readers are the only ‘instrument’ through whom the company can increase revenue because they can inflate bills at will. They increase electricity bills, especially during May and June, to meet revenue targets. They can also inflate bills to recover money for their corruption – helping people in power theft. Both the possibilities could be at work this month, he said.
Without ruling out the instances of over billing, Lesco chief Akram Arain maintained that such cases formed a microscopic minority when considered in the backdrop of total company consumers that touch the number three million. The company maintained the record of corrected bills and could easily assess frequency of inflated bills. The trouble with the company was that people did not go to the customer service centres to get them corrected. These centres are under instructions to instantly correct the bills on verbal statement of the consumer up to a difference of 500 units.
The company is going to issue a letter to all sub-divisional officers (SDOs) to watch out for such bills, and any increase in number of wrong billing would invoke administrative action, he said.
Beyond the theoretical efficiency of upper crest of Lesco, the lower staff hardly cooperates with the victims of wrong billing, says Shabir of Johar Town. “I got a bill for 400 units in access to my consumption of May and was asked to write an application when I visited the nearby Lesco office. After receiving the application, I was asked to come back after a week to get the corrected bill. Meanwhile, they said our staff would go for checking the meter. It means that I have to waste two days for none of my fault. That is why people prefer paying the bill than running after the company staff and get humiliated in the process,” he said.
The consumers need efficient service delivery, not a mechanism for correction after wrong billing, says Safdar Siddiqi of Gulberg. Instead of giving instructions to correct bills, the company needs to ensure that every one gets bill according to his consumption. Hardly two per cent people take the trouble of going through the grilling process of bill correction. The rest simply pay it and the company achieves its revenue targets.
According to him, over billing is a round-the-year phenomenon and becomes more visible during May, June and July.
Warning: Three wings of the City District Government of Lahore, along with the Punjab police and food departments, have been warned of power disconnection as they owe over Rs5 million to the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco).
The Gulberg Town owes Rs3.4 million, the Traffic Engineering and Transport Planning Agency (Tepa) Rs1.44 million, the Parks and Horticulture Authority Rs249,246, police Rs523,557 and food department Rs44,594, says a Lesco release issued on Tuesday.