Lesco teams ‘harassing’ consumers for recovery of bills

Consumers in Lahore are voicing strong criticism against the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) field officials. They allege that company representatives are harassing citizens and unlawfully disconnecting power supplies under the guise of recovering outstanding bills. The Lahore commissioner's office has acknowledged these complaints and scheduled a meeting with senior Lesco officials to intervene and resolve the matter.

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A Lesco team came to our house on Saturday and started pressuring us to pay the bill immediately, failing which they threatened to remove the meter, disconnecting the power supply.

One consumer recounted an incident where a Lesco team pressured them to pay a bill that had only recently become due, threatening meter removal and power disconnection. Despite the consumer's assertion of not being a defaulter and the bill not being overdue, they felt compelled to pay under duress. Similar complaints have emerged from various parts of the city, with consumers describing the actions as "simply harassment."

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They (the Lesco officials) removed meters and disconnected the power supply a couple of days before without any notice. Their behaviour was also not good.

Assistant Commissioner Saleem Aasi confirmed instances of electricity meters being removed from some consumers' premises in Lahore GOR-1 without prior notice or proper information, accompanied by poor conduct from Lesco officials. He noted that power disconnection via meter removal is typically reserved for non-payment of current and previous month's bills. However, Lesco teams have reportedly been disconnecting connections even for single-month non-payments.

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It is simply harassment.

A spokesperson for the Lahore Commissioner stated that the issue of Lesco teams harassing citizens for bill recovery would be a key agenda item in an upcoming meeting with Lesco officers. The aim is to urge Lesco to cease such practices. Lesco Chief Executive Officer Ramzan Butt, however, indicated a shift in policy, stating that consumers failing to pay even a single month's bill are now considered defaulters, a change from the previous practice of cutting power only after two consecutive months of non-payment.

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After we came to know about Lesco teams harassing people on the pretext of bill recovery, we decided to also include this issue in the agenda items of the meeting.