LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) administration on Thursday suspended from service its Barki Road subdivision meter reader over negligence and misconduct, damaging the company’s repute in solar net-metering billing issue.

The Lesco administration has also directed the senior and junior officials to make all out efforts to facilitate the consumers by resolving their issues related to billing, power failure etc.

“Mr Shahzad Sufaid (Meter Reader), Barki Subdivision, is hereby suspended from service on account of misconduct, and temporarily attached with Aziz Bhatti Town Division (Lahore) for attendance purpose with immediate effect till further orders,” reads an office order.

The company has also sought an explanation from the suspended meter reader within 14 days.

“It has been observed with grave concerns that you didn’t bore/feed the export units of batch No 16 for the month of March 2025 in respect of Barki subdivision. A large number of consumers’ complaints [have been] received by the one-window [unit] of this office,” the explanation letter issued by the Lesco administration under rule-5 (IV) reads, adding: “Your this act caused inconvenience to the consumers and you earned a bad name for this office and the department. “Meanwhile, the Lesco administration in a statement says that the net-metering billing issue has been thoroughly investigated.

According to the company, for March 2025, the total export units recorded for the Lesco South Circle stand at 32.32 million, compared to 15.34m import units.

Specifically, the area mentioned in a media report falls under Aziz Bhatti Town Division, where export units for March 2025 amount to 2.54m. The import units in this area stand at 1.12m, as reported by the executive engineer concerned. These figures clearly demonstrate that export units are being properly recorded and charged.

Additionally, the complaint regarding a specific housing society falls under the jurisdiction of Barki Sub-Division, where 355,080 import units and 550,962 export units have been duly charged.

“While occasional discrepancies in meter readings may occur due to human or typographical errors, any such individual complaints are investigated on a routine basis,” the company said, adding that the action has been taken in accordance with LESCO’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) against the official concerned for negligence from duty.

It said that for ready reference, the respective billing records, reflecting the charges against export units, are available at Lesco office for the consumers for verification purpose.

PRICE CONTROL: The Lahore district administration led by Deputy Commissioner Syed Musa Raza, during the ongoing pre-Eid price-control operation, imposed fines exceeding Rs300,000 across multiple city zones.

During the operation, assistant commissioners (ACs) conducted surprise inspections in different administrative zones, including Model Town, Iqbal Town, Nishtar Town, Wahga, Raiwind, Ravi Town, and City, checking sugar prices, market rates and commercial establishments.

Model Town AC imposed Rs135,000 fines on account of sugar price violations, while Iqbal Town and Ravi Town ACs penalized many stores for overcharging.

The systematic approach involved detailed market surveys, price verification, and immediate punitive actions against non-compliant vendors.

The DC has emphasised the administration’s commitment to providing maximum relief to the public, stating that administrative officers are conducting daily assessments of essential commodity prices to ensure strict adherence to official rates.

The surprise inspections were conducted in the major markets, including Model Bazaar, Sabza Bazaar, with a particular focus on essential commodities.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2025