KARACHI: Electricity distribution companies accounted for more than 65,000 complaints lodged with Pakistan’s Federal Ombudsman in the first seven months of 2026. It has emerged as the largest source of public grievances even as the watchdog reported a decline in its overall backlog.
The Federal Ombudsman received 162,514 complaints from January to July, up from 147,982 during the same period last year, according to figures reviewed at a performance meeting chaired by Federal Ombudsman Naveed Kamran Baloch in Karachi.
Power companies topped the list with 65,330 complaints, followed by gas companies with 25,586 and the Benazir Income Support Programme with 15,997.
Complaints against electricity providers largely involved over billing, billing errors, delays in meter installation, defective meters, load-shedding and frequent tripping, as well as allegations of extortion and demands for bribes. Gas consumers mainly complained about fixed charges, meter rents, inaccurate bills, winter shortages and service disruptions.
The five largest complaint-generating institutions — electricity and gas companies, BISP, NADRA and PLIC/PPOD — together accounted for 122,838 complaints, or 75.6 percent of the total.
Despite the increase in complaints, the Ombudsman disposed of 150,307 cases, compared with 148,365 during the same period in 2025. The net caseload consequently fell from 47,668 to 40,371 cases.
The backlog also declined from 10,317 cases carried forward at the start of the year to 8,721 by the end of July.
Karachi recorded the largest year-on-year increase in complaints, with 7,807 additional cases, followed by Dera Ghazi Khan with 5,442 and Mirpurkhas with 1,053. Dera Ghazi Khan and Karachi also posted the largest increases in disposals.
Lahore had the highest net caseload at 11,861 cases, followed by Karachi with 5,046 and Hyderabad with 3,087.
Of 38,331 cases declared implementable during the seven months, 33,711 were implemented. The number of implementable cases rose from 5,275 in January to 6,808 in July.
Gujranwala recorded the strongest implementation performance among major offices, followed by Multan and Peshawar. Muzaffarabad, Dera Ismail Khan and Swat recorded weaker results, although Swat showed significant improvement over its 2025 performance.
Review petitions remained a concern. Pendency reached 259 by the end of July after the office received 196 petitions during the month and disposed of 204.
The Grievance Commissioner for Overseas Pakistanis received 251 complaints in July and disposed of 188, while conducting 59 hearings.
Baloch said regional follow-up meetings would begin the following week, starting in Lahore and continuing in Karachi, Quetta and Peshawar. He said 80 to 87 per cent of complaints originate in the provinces, underscoring the need to strengthen regional offices and improve coordination with headquarters.
The figures indicate that while public complaints continue to rise, the ombudsman has improved disposal and implementation and reduced its overall caseload. Regional disparities and the growing number of review petitions, however, remain areas requiring attention.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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