ISLAMABAD – As inflation weary people are bearing brunt of inflated electricity bills, a new scandal surfaced, exposing dirty tricks of eight electricity distribution companies that have been caught overcharging consumers by a jaw-dropping Rs244 billion in just one year.
In recent audit of Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), it was revealed that IESCO, LESCO, HESCO, MEPCO, PESCO, QESCO, SEPCO, and TESCO take millions from pockets of masses while pushing honest consumers to the brink.
In a single month, five of these companies reportedly inflated bills for nearly 280,000 consumers, raking in Rs47.81 billion! Over the entire year, more than 900 million fake units were charged across the country.
QESCO remained at to grim list, allegedly looting Rs148 billion from farmers through sky-high tube well charges. In a country battling inflation and energy poverty, this revelation has sparked outrage.
To cover their tracks, companies also billed Rs22 billion under shady “load adjustments”, a trick used to mask technical losses. Shockingly, 1,432 power feeders were found to be issuing false bills worth Rs18.64 billion, with audit teams even denied access to crucial records.
This is nothing short of highway robbery, and it’s been happening under everyone’s noses,” said one enraged consumer advocate. “It’s time for heads to roll.”
Though minor refunds were issued Rs5.29 billion for wrong meter readings and Rs2.18 billion by PESCO, auditors slammed the process as chaotic, undocumented, and largely meaningless.
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