Prime Minister's spokesman and Chairman Lahore Electric Supply Company Board of Directors Dr Musadik Malik has announced that transparency will be ensured in Lesco operations by introducing a web portal of the company enabling its consumers to get information about their electricity bills and level of load shedding on their particular feeder.
He was addressing young electrical engineers after chairing a board meeting of the company. Board members, including Ibne Hassan, Farooq Iftikhar and Salman Akhtar, besides the LESCO top hierarchy were also present on the occasion. "The Lesco consumers would be able to know exact load shedding on different feeders including that of the Chief Minister as well as the GOR," he added.
He said the Lesco website would be updated automatically on regular basis and every consumer would have access to the line losses, receivables and load shedding on his feeder. "I assure that nowhere in the world yet such transparency is being exercised, which would be introduced in Lesco region in a month or so," he added. Furthermore, he disclosed that the meter readers would be bound to take a picture of the meter at the time of meter reading and put it on the website for the information of the consumers. "This arrangement would be in place in next 90 days," he assured.
"We've resolved in the Board today that the GPRS co-ordinate will be locked of every electricity meter while 25 percent of the received pictures would be referred automatically to the internal audit committee to update the people regarding the correct reading of their bills," he said. He further pointed out that an SMS would be generated automatically to the consumers within 24 hours soon after the billing takes place. "The consumer would be given option to respond through their cell phones to show their satisfaction or dissatisfaction regarding the meter reading," he added.
He urged the young electrical engineers to gauge the impact of load shedding not in terms of numbers but in terms of the fate of a child who fighting for life in a district or tehsil level operation theatre. He vowed to stop corruption in Lesco and urged the participants to take oath of fighting against corruption at their respective levels. He said the rhetoric of 13 percent losses in Lesco region is a lie, as it reaches to 27 percent in case one adds agriculture sector losses to it.
He further admitted that incorrect billing was exercised in Lesco, which is resulting into over billing and under billing, which is needed to be stopped immediately. He also pointed out that the Lesco has been overstating its profits over the last two years. "The Lesco has overstated its profits by Rs 9 billion and Rs 5 billion twice during the last three years," he said and resolved to avoid a repetition of the same ahead. He also mentioned about the Phool Nagar case, where a difference of Rs 110 million has been detected in Lesco accounts of one bank. He said this amount was not deposited to the bank by the Lesco staff despite charging from the consumers. "The Board has referred the case to the FIA and the responsible ones would be taken to the task in any case," he said.