he month of July in Lahore brings sweltering heat, stifling humidity and an unrelenting wave of power outages. Beyond weather-induced load-shedding, the consumers now face a sharper, more immediate anxiety: watching their home suddenly go dark while neighbouring houses remain illuminated — a sign that their power meter has been abruptly disconnected.

Despite official denials, reports are surfacing that field staff from the Lahore Electric Supply Company have been harassing consumers and disconnecting electricity meters over a single month of unpaid bills.

LESCO spokesperson Rabia Qadir denies the allegations, stating that the company has received no formal complaints regarding aggressive disconnections or misconduct by field staff, including sub-divisional officers, executive engineers and linesmen.

Qadir says that LESCO’s practices strictly align with guidelines set by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority, which mandate that a consumer’s power can only be disconnected after two consecutive months of non-payment.

“Some linesmen may have threatened disconnections if they found unpaid bills on-site, but these are isolated incidents and do not reflect company policy,” Qadir says, adding that the LESCO operates a dedicated consumer complaints cell where all grievances are recorded — none of which currently reflect these allegations.

A visit to LESCO’s central complaints office reveals a starkly different reality. Amid a crowd of frustrated consumers seeking remedies for inflated industrial bills and damaged meters, one official, speaking on condition of anonymity, offers crucial context.

The official says that coercive disconnection tactics typically spike every year in June and July. During this period, the Ministry of Energy issues aggressive directives to distribution companies (DISCOs) to achieve recovery targets and trim financial losses before the close of the fiscal year.

Staff at the office refers further inquiries to LESCO Chief Executive Officer Ramazan Butt, whose public relations office states that he is unavailable due to meetings in Islamabad.

The issue is far from unique to LESCO. Similar reports have emerged from the Multan Electric Power Company region. In Muzaffargarh, consumers who missed a single payment have reported receiving aggressive warnings from field crews threatening immediate disconnection upon any future default.

LESCO spokesperson Rabia Qadir says that the company operates a dedicated consumer complaint cell where all grievances are recorded — none of which currently reflect these allegations. 

Compounding consumer frustration is a controversial redesign of the monthly electricity bill. In a formal letter to the prime minister, the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers and Exporters Association has voiced strong alarm over the new format, alleging that it strips away critical data consumers rely on to verify their charges.

According to the PHMEA, essential details — including the connection installation date, time-stamped meter reading snapshots and the identity of the meter reader — have been removed. Furthermore, in cases of meter replacements, final readings from old devices are no longer prominently displayed.

Instead, the DISCOs have introduced a QR code system to access billing details — a shift critics argue disenfranchises millions of senior citizens, low-income households and rural residents who lack smartphones or stable internet access.

The association says that this structural change appears to violate NEPRA regulations, noting that no formal request for a bill redesign was submitted to the regulator, nor were public hearings or consumer objections solicited prior to the rollout.

Economist and corporate lawyer Dr Ikramul Haq sees the conduct of power distribution companies not as a minor administrative oversight, but as an institutionalised campaign of pressure against citizens already burdened by falling purchasing powers.

“Reports of field teams descending upon homes, intimidating residents and carrying out unauthorised disconnections carry a severe human cost,” Dr Haq says. “Under NEPRA’s revised Consumer Service Manual, electricity cannot be cut simply because a bill for the current month remains unpaid. A mandatory seven-day notice must accompany the second month’s bill before a legal disconnection can occur. Meter removal carries even stricter safeguards.”

Dr Haq dismisses the suggestion that ministerial pressure for revenue recovery excuses arbitrary field actions. “Administrative instructions from a ministry cannot override statutory rules,” he adds. “The structural financial crisis of the power sector, including the mounting circular debt, cannot be solved by terrorising ordinary households.”

While emphasising that consumers are legally obligated to clear legitimate dues, Dr Haq urges the NEPRA to take immediate regulatory action. He calls on the watchdog to investigate field officials, hold DISCO management accountable and order the immediate restoration of power to all unlawfully disconnected households.

“Revenue recovery targets must never become a licence to humiliate citizens or deny families basic utility services without due process.”

Ahsan Raza is the editor of an English daily. He can be reached at [email protected]