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Overbilling of Rs 47.81 billion by electricity distribution companies in Pakistan in just one month has been revealed. The report of the Auditor General of Pakistan was presented in the meeting of the Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly.

The meeting also revealed that a fraud of Rs 1.6 billion was committed in the salaries and benefits of 130 ghost employees in the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company, out of which only Rs 130 million has been recovered.

The meeting was informed that the electricity distribution companies (Discos) deliberately overbilled and the largest illegal overbilling was done by Lahore Electric Supply Company LESCO, which is Rs 45 billion.

Officials of the Auditor General’s Office, while rejecting the claim of the Secretary Power Division to refund Rs 47.81 billion received from consumers in the form of overbilling, said that “Discos” refunds overbilling amount only to those consumers who apply for it.

Due to the process of refunding overbilling by the companies being complicated, lengthy and biased, very few consumers approach “Discos” for refund of excess amount. The report also revealed that as a regulatory authority, “Nepra” has failed miserably in fulfilling its responsibilities and instead of protecting the rights of consumers, the authority protected the interests of distribution companies. The report has raised many questions on the role of “Nepra” and the Power Division.

The report states that in total, the “discos” overbilled Rs 904 million units. It was also revealed in the meeting that Rs 1.6 billion was withdrawn in the names of 130 ghost employees in the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company. The company responded by saying that three accounts officers and a finance department officer involved in the ghost employee issue have been dismissed. Cases have also been registered against these employees. The company said that Rs 130 million has been withdrawn so far.

Public Accounts Committee directs to pay salaries of employees of all discos digitally. The Secretary Power Division said that the Power Division is going to privatize all the remaining “discos” in phases, except for two distribution companies, Quetta Electric Company and Tribal Area Electric Company. The audit report said that the electricity distribution companies (DSCOs) have put an additional burden of Rs 47.81 billion on the pockets of the public to hide their incompetence, line losses and electricity theft.

The electricity companies have stolen this huge amount from 278,649 consumers in just one month through meter reading manipulation and overbilling.

According to the audit report, the DSCOs have deliberately made incorrect and excessive meter readings and sent bills of crores of additional units to consumers. The report says that the companies have put an additional load on the common citizens to cover their technical losses (line losses) and electricity theft. The audit officials say that the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has admitted to overbilling of Rs 45 billion, while the Peshawar Electric Supply Company has also admitted to meter reading manipulation.

Officials told the Public Accounts Committee that during the year, a total loss of Rs472 billion was incurred due to poor performance of electricity distribution companies and power theft, of which Rs265 billion was lost due to transmission and distribution and Rs207 billion due to under-collection of bills. The report states that the “discos” are involved in the manipulation of billions of rupees per month, from the heads and senior officers of these companies to the lowest-level employees. LESCO has overbilled billions of rupees in June and July this year, however, its audit report will come out in 2027.

A former senior officer of the billing department of the Lahore Electric Supply Company, on condition of anonymity, said that the “discos” commit the highest overbilling during the three summer months of June, July and August.

In these months, consumers use more electricity, so most of them do not pay attention to this robbery. To a question, he said that during these three summer months, “targets” are set at the division level, from which meter readers are told through the sub-division how many additional units they have to put in the consumers’ accounts. He said that this trend is not new. Now it is being noticed because electricity prices and taxes have increased to an extraordinary extent, so a few additional units also come on record.