ISLAMABAD: A joint committee of the Punjab Provincial Assembly has called for a comprehensive forensic audit of electricity billing by Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), fixing responsibility for alleged over-billing and manipulation of consumer records, and introducing an independent mechanism to investigate complaints against electricity distribution companies (Discos), sources close to Chairman Nepra told Business Recorder.
The committee has also recommended strict enforcement of Nepra instructions requiring 48-hour advance notice before load-shedding, an end to collective disconnection of electricity supply to entire localities and a mechanism to prevent distribution companies from transferring losses caused by electricity theft on to consumers who regularly pay their bills.
These recommendations were made at a joint meeting of the Committee on Law Reforms and Delegated Legislation and Special Committee No. 16, chaired by Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan at the New Assembly Building, Lahore, on October 6, 2026.
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The meeting assumed significance as Lesco Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Ramzan Butt acknowledged historical irregularities in the company’s billing system and confirmed that several Executive Engineers (XENs) and Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) had been terminated over billing fraud.
He informed the committee that, following intervention by the Prime Minister, LESCO had engaged a third-party technology vendor to conduct an independent billing audit, initially focusing on disputed commercial bills brought to the attention of committee members.
The CEO acknowledged that the grievances raised by lawmakers were genuine and assured them that the complaints would be addressed. He also committed to personally visiting the affected areas and meeting elected representatives to resolve their concerns and prevent recurrence of such complaints.
The committee’s recommendations cover a wide range of consumer-related issues, including billing irregularities, electricity theft, hazardous electrical installations, prolonged and unannounced load-shedding, compensation for accident victims and the absence of an effective complaint-redressal mechanism.
According to the minutes of the meeting, lawmakers expressed serious concern over complaints that electricity consumers were being subjected to arbitrary and excessive billing, with some field officials allegedly manipulating billing parameters to meet targets linked to property values rather than actual electricity consumption.
The committee specifically highlighted cases in which closed properties had received arbitrary electricity assessments and flood-affected areas were aggressively charged average bills despite a complete four-month suspension of electricity services.
Members observed that consumers were being forced to bear the financial consequences of inefficiencies and electricity theft, instead of the distribution companies taking effective measures to control their losses.
The committee recommended a forensic audit of electricity billing, particularly disputed cases involving alleged overbilling, to identify the causes of abnormal or incorrect bills and fix responsibility.
The audit is expected to examine the specific commercial bills presented by committee members, which Lesco’s CEO said would initially be taken up by the third-party technology vendor engaged by the company.
The lawmakers also expressed concern over the persistent shortage of electricity meters, excessive bills imposed on poor consumers and difficulties faced by citizens in getting their complaints resolved.
Malik Ahmad Saeed Khan, MPA, pointed out that consumers were facing serious difficulties in obtaining electricity meters and were being burdened with exorbitant bills. He also referred to a fatal incident involving a child allegedly caused by hazardous electricity wires and criticised Lesco’s response.
Ahsan Raza Khan, MPA, highlighted complaints about fixed-rate billing, the absence of access to senior Lesco officials and continued unscheduled load-shedding despite a resolution passed by the Punjab Assembly.
The committee also expressed grave concern over unannounced electricity load-shedding lasting several hours, particularly in view of claims about surplus electricity generation.
Lawmakers questioned the justification for prolonged outages and demanded that consumers be informed in advance about scheduled interruptions.
The committee recommended that concerned electricity distribution authorities ensure strict compliance with Nepra instructions, including the requirement of 48-hour prior notice before load-shedding.
Law Minister Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan suggested that continuous two-hour load-shedding should be avoided and that the total daily duration should instead be divided into shorter intervals of 30 minutes to minimise inconvenience to the public.
Lesco’s CEO informed the meeting that a uniform load-shedding policy was being followed across the country.
However, the committee emphasised that consumers who regularly paid their bills should not be penalised for electricity theft and losses attributable to other consumers.
It recommended devising a mechanism to ensure that line losses and losses resulting from power theft were not unfairly transferred to paying consumers.
The committee also called for reviewing the practice of disconnecting electricity supply to entire grid consumers.
Another major issue discussed at the meeting was the deteriorating condition of electricity distribution infrastructure, particularly hazardous electrical installations maintained by distribution companies.
Opening the discussion, Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan questioned the existing arrangements for preventing accidents involving dangerous electrical installations and sought details of the mechanism for determining responsibility and compensating victims.
The Speaker observed that consumers were regularly paying electricity bills that included charges for improving distribution infrastructure, yet dangerous electrical installations continued to pose risks to human life and property.
Photographs of hazardous electricity wires were presented to the committee, which expressed displeasure over the state of affairs.
The committee observed that whenever an accident resulted in injury or death because of hazardous electrical installations, the provincial authorities must determine responsibility in collaboration with Lesco and the Punjab Energy Department.
Chief Engineer Energy Department Punjab Muhammad Yaseen briefed the meeting on the legal framework governing electricity-related accidents.
He explained that Section 33 of the Electricity Act, 1910, provided for appropriate government action in cases involving loss of life or injuries.
Under an earlier government notification, the concerned Sub-Divisional Officer of the distribution company was required to report such accidents to the relevant Electrical Inspector and the company’s head office. The government could also direct an Electrical Inspector to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
However, he explained that the Consumer Service Manual 2010, issued under the Regulation of Generation, Transmission and Distribution of Electric Power Act, 1997, constituted the prevailing legal framework because the latter legislation had an overriding effect.
Under the existing arrangement, an accident is required to be reported immediately to the nearest police station and the relevant Disco complaint office, while police conduct an investigation in association with the Electrical Inspector.
He also referred to Chapters 12 and 13 of the Consumer Service Manual, which deal with relevant matters concerning hazardous electrical installations.
Secretary Energy Punjab Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti endorsed the explanation of the legal framework and maintained that there was no inconsistency between the Electricity Act, 1910, and the 1997 legislation.
The committee, however, called for stronger implementation of statutory responsibilities by the Punjab Energy Department and Electrical Inspectors, particularly regarding reporting, inspection, investigation and timely determination of responsibility in electricity-related accidents.
The committee expressed concern that consumers had no effective and independent forum to obtain relief against alleged irregularities by distribution companies.
It recommended that the existing complaint and inquiry mechanism be examined and measures proposed to ensure that complaints were investigated by an independent and impartial authority.
The committee also called for an effective mechanism to ensure timely disposal of complaints involving overbilling, disconnection, restoration of electricity supply, compensation, electricity-related accidents and other consumer grievances.
Importantly, it recommended that elected public representatives be associated with the complaint-redressal mechanism to ensure that local problems were addressed at the grassroots level.
Representing the federal government, Joint Secretary Power Division Muhammad Khalid Khan acknowledged widespread shortcomings in customer-service responsiveness across power distribution companies.
He informed the meeting that the Ministry of Energy was establishing divisional- and Executive Engineer-level Customer Service Committees, which would include public and legislative representatives to address complaints at the local level.
He further stated that a high-level apex supervisory body would be notified under the Prime Minister’s directives to streamline monitoring and tracking of unresolved complaints.
The proposed arrangements are intended to improve coordination between distribution companies, public representatives and consumers and ensure that complaints do not remain unattended at the field level.
The committee also addressed the wider problem of illegal electricity connections and power theft, recommending a comprehensive policy jointly prepared by the Ministry of Energy (Power Division) and the Punjab Energy Department.
The policy would cover measures for dealing with illegal connections and theft, including possible regularisation or legalisation of existing connections in accordance with the law.
The lawmakers stressed that electricity theft should be tackled through effective enforcement against those responsible rather than imposing additional financial burdens or collective penalties on consumers who regularly pay their bills.
The committee further recommended that the Power Division formulate a comprehensive policy for handling public complaints, covering registration, inquiry, resolution, compensation, restoration of supply, monitoring and accountability.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Energy Punjab Muhammad Ajmal Bhatti, Director Law and Parliamentary Affairs Muhammad Naeem Khan and Chief Engineer Energy Department Muhammad Yaseen.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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