Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD,: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday directed to complete the installation of smart meters as soon as possible to ensure transparency in the billing system and called for concrete steps to prevent electricity theft. The prime minister chaired a review meeting on the performance of Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs). The deliberations centered on the affairs of Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO), and Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
During the meeting, the prime minister said that the overbilling was unacceptable and strict action would be taken against officers involved in such practices. He expressed concern over the delay in the appointment process of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the distribution companies and directed for ensuring CEOs’ appointments through a highly transparent process and asked for its completion at the earliest.
Recruitment of workforce in distribution companies should be merit-based, with no compromise on transparency, he further added. The prime minister said that all the available resources should be utilized to meet the targets of NEPRA. Minister for Economic Affairs Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Power Division Sardar Owais Ahmad Khan Leghari, Minister of State for Information Technology and Telecommunication Shaza Fatima, Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Ali Pervez Malik, Prime Minister’s Coordinator Rana Ahsan Afzal, and senior government officials attended the meeting. The meeting was given a detailed briefing on the achievement of targets which included recovery rates (up to November of FY 2024-25): LESCO: 96.82%, PESCO: 87.98% and FESCO: 97.57%. Transmission and distribution losses (up to November of FY 2024-25) in these companies remained at: LESCO: 13.04%, PESCO: 33% and FESCO: 6.01%. The meeting was also apprised of the smart meter installation progress:- LESCO: Out of 223,365 three-phase smart meters, 49,470 had been installed. PESCO: Out of 152,559 smart meters, 51,173 have been installed. FESCO: Out of 192,311 smart meters, 11,276 have been installed. LESCO, PESCO, and FESCO offered consumers’ facilities for complaint resolution and other services via call centers, emails, websites, interactive voice response (IVR) systems, and NEPRA’s mobile and web services. Moreover, free access to the 118 helpline from all mobile operators was being ensured for complaints related to electricity transmission, it was further added.
