One missed bill enough for Lesco to pull the plug?…

The month of July brings heat and humidity to Lahore. It also brings frequent power cuts, mainly from weather related issues. When it rains, and the atmosphere is muggy, power breakdown occurs and people expect that power will return soon after it goes. But there is a different kind of fear. This fear grows when a house sits dark while every other house on the street still has light. This means the power meter has been disconnected.

Recent reports say that field staff of the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), have been harassing consumers. These reports say that officials are disconnecting power for people who have missed just one month of bill payment. This goes against the normal rule. Under the normal rule, a meter can only be disconnected after two months of non-payment.

LESCO spokesperson Rabia Qadir has denied these reports. She said the company has not received any complaint about this issue. She said that rules made by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), protect the rights and safety of consumers. Under these rules, a meter cannot be disconnected simply because one month of bill payment was missed.

She also said that Lesco has not received any formal complaint against any sub-divisional officer, executive engineer, or lineman of any of its circle regarding such incidents. However, she said that some linemen may try to scare or pressure consumers. These linemen may threaten to disconnect a meter if the consumer does not pay the outstanding bill right away. She said this could happen in some cases and this was not the company’s policy. But she stressed that Lesco has a consumer complaint cell. All complaints are recorded there. She said that according to these records, no such complaint has come in.

The situation on the ground appears more complicated. This reporter visited the consumer cell at the office of the Lesco chief officer. Several consumers were present there. Their complaints were about different issues. Some wanted correction of industrial bills. Others reported broken meters.

When asked about the reports of meters being cut for a single month of default, one officer gave an important detail. They said this practice usually happens in June or July. They said the ministry gives instructions during these months to speed up bill recovery. The goal is to reduce financial losses. Staff at the office suggested that a proper response should come from Lesco Chief Executive Officer Ramzan Butt or his public relations office. However, the public relations office said that Ramzan Butt was in Islamabad for a meeting at the time.

This problem is not limited to LESCO areas. Similar reports have come from areas covered by the Multan Electric Power Company. In Muzaffargarh, consumers who missed one month of payment received strict warnings from field staff. These staff members told consumers to avoid another default. If they defaulted again, they were told, their meters would be disconnected.

According to the rules, a power connection cannot be cut through meter removal unless bills for both the current and the previous month remain unpaid. Yet for several months now, Lesco teams have continued cutting connections even when only one month of payment was missing.

Other than power severe threats, the other main issue people face is take notice of a major problem in the new electricity bill format. The Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association in a letter to the prime minister said the revised bill has removed a lot of information that consumers used to see. He said this makes it hard for people to check their meter readings, units consumed, tariff calculations and other charges on their own.

They say the changes seem to have been made without following the proper process set by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, known as NEPRA. No formal request for changing the bill format was filed with NEPRA and that consumers were never asked for their objections, nor were they given a chance to take part in a public hearing before the change was made.

They say that bills are supposed to show the date when the connection or meter was installed, but this information is now missing. The removal of the meter reading snapshot is a serious problem, because consumers can no longer check if the reading used for their bill matches the actual reading at their home. Also, information about the meter reader, along with the date and time of the reading, has also disappeared.

They say that when a meter is changed, the bill should show a snapshot of the final reading from the old meter, but distribution companies are not properly doing this. The new bills carry a QR code instead, but this cannot replace information that should be clearly printed on the bill itself. Many senior citizens, people living in rural areas, and low income households may not have smartphones or the internet access needed to scan a QR code.

Economist and corporate lawyer Dr Ikramul Haq commented on this situation. He said that the conduct of power distribution companies is not simply a small technical mistake. He called it as a form of pressure against ordinary citizens. These citizens are already struggling with rising prices, high electricity rates, and falling purchasing power. He said that reports of field teams arriving at homes, treating consumers badly, and threatening immediate disconnection show the real human cost of this careless approach. He added that in some cases, meters were removed without any prior notice being given.

Dr said explained that the legal position on this matter is very clear. Under the revised Consumer Service Manual issued by Nepra, electricity cannot be disconnected only because the bill for the current or previous month remains unpaid. A notice of seven days must be given along with the bill for the second month of default. Only after this notice period passes, and the default continues, can disconnection take place. He said that removing a meter involves even more safeguards under the rules. He stressed that Lesco cannot change these rules on its own by calling every consumer who misses one due date a defaulter.

He also addressed reports that the ministry has been pushing for faster recovery of bills. He said that even if these reports are true, they do not excuse the illegal actions being taken. He explained that administrative instructions from a ministry cannot override rules set by law. He said that the financial problems of the power sector, including circular debt, cannot be solved by scaring ordinary households.

Dr Haq said that consumers must pay bills that are lawfully due. But he added that the state and its institutions must also follow the law. He called on Nepra to step in immediately. He said Nepra should order the restoration of power wherever disconnections were carried out unlawfully. He also said that Nepra should investigate the conduct of field officials involved in these incidents. He said the management of these companies must be held accountable. He concluded that recovery targets should never become an excuse to humiliate citizens. Nor should they become a reason to leave families without electricity without following proper legal process.