A new report by the Auditor General of Pakistan has revealed that eight electricity distribution companies overbilled consumers by a staggering Rs244 billion during the 2023–24 fiscal year.
The overbilling, according to the audit, was a deliberate move to hide losses caused by electricity theft, inefficiency, and technical faults.
The report names IESCO, LESCO, HESCO, MEPCO, PESCO, QESCO, SEPCO, and TESCO as the main culprits. In just one month, five of these companies reportedly overcharged nearly 280,000 consumers by Rs47.81 billion. Throughout the year, more than 900 million excess electricity units were billed.
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QESCO emerged as the biggest offender, allegedly inflating charges for tube wells used in agriculture, which led to Rs148 billion in overbilling. The audit also noted that Rs22 billion was falsely added under “load adjustment” to hide technical losses.
Furthermore, 1,432 power feeders were found to have issued inflated bills worth Rs18.64 billion. Alarmingly, audit teams were denied access to billing records related to these feeders, raising concerns about transparency and accountability.
While some refunds were made — including Rs5.29 billion for wrong meter readings and Rs2.18 billion in adjustments by PESCO — auditors said many of the refund claims were either undocumented or lacked proper verification.