A joint committee of the Punjab Provincial Assembly has called for a comprehensive forensic audit of electricity billing by Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), with responsibility fixed for alleged overbilling and manipulation of consumer records, and with an independent route to probe complaints against distribution companies (Discos).
The recommendations came from a joint sitting 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 in Lahore on 6 October 2026. Sources close to the chairman of Nepra—the national power regulator—described the panel’s demands.
Lesco CEO confirms irregularities and staff dismissals
Lesco Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Ramzan Butt told the meeting that billing irregularities had long existed and that several Executive Engineers (XENs) and Sub-Divisional Officers (SDOs) had been removed over billing fraud. He said that after the Prime Minister’s intervention, Lesco had engaged a third-party technology firm for an independent billing audit, starting with disputed commercial bills flagged by committee members.
The CEO accepted that lawmakers’ grievances were genuine, pledged that complaints would be handled, and said he would visit affected areas and meet elected representatives to stop the same problems recurring. According to the meeting minutes, members raised arbitrary and excessive bills, including claims that some field staff altered billing parameters to hit targets tied to property values rather than actual use. Closed properties had drawn arbitrary assessments, and flood-hit areas were pressed with average bills despite electricity being suspended for four months.
Load-shedding notice, theft losses and collective cuts
The committee urged Discos to enforce Nepra rules requiring 48-hour advance notice before load-shedding, to stop cutting supply to whole localities, and to stop shifting theft and line losses onto consumers who pay regularly. Lawmakers questioned long, unannounced outages amid talk of surplus generation and demanded prior notice of planned interruptions.
Law Minister Rana Muhammad Iqbal Khan suggested avoiding continuous two-hour cuts and spreading the same daily outage into shorter 30-minute spells. Lesco’s CEO said a uniform load-shedding policy was followed nationwide. MPAs Malik Ahmad Saeed Khan and Ahsan Raza Khan also cited meter shortages, high bills for poorer households, fixed-rate billing, weak access to senior Lesco officers, and unscheduled shedding despite a Punjab Assembly resolution.
Safety, complaints and federal follow-up
Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan pressed how dangerous installations are prevented, who is held responsible after accidents, and how victims are compensated—pointing out that bills already include charges meant to improve the network. Photographs of hazardous wires were shown. An MPA referred to a child’s death allegedly linked to unsafe wires and criticised Lesco’s response. Punjab Energy officials outlined reporting and inquiry rules under the Electricity Act, 1910, and the Consumer Service Manual 2010; the committee still sought stronger action by the Energy Department and Electrical Inspectors.
Members said consumers lack an effective independent forum against Disco irregularities and recommended impartial probes, faster disposal of overbilling, disconnection, restoration, compensation and accident cases, and a role for elected representatives. Joint Secretary Power Division Muhammad Khalid Khan said customer-service committees at divisional and XEN level, including public and legislative members, were being formed, with a high-level apex body under Prime Minister’s directives to track unresolved cases. The panel also sought a joint federal–Punjab policy on illegal connections and theft that targets offenders rather than collective penalties on paying users, plus a Power Division complaint policy covering registration through accountability.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Punjab Assembly ne Lesco ke billon ka forensic audit mangaa hai. Lesco ke CEO ne mana ke billing mein purani ghaltiyan thin aur kuch officers ko fraud par nikala gaya. Aam logon ke liye matlab yeh hai ke overbilling, chori ke nuqsan aur baghair notice load-shedding par ab zyada nigrani aur shikayat ka naya nizam tayaar ho sakta hai. Agar aap regular bill ada karte hain, committee chahti hai ke doosron ki chori ka bojh aap par na dale.
