LAHORE – A routine electricity bill is turning into fresh storm for LESCO, as allegations that some smart meters were allegedly ‘muted’ before extra units were added have sparked serious overbilling concerns and put the company under renewed scrutiny.
Communication from some Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) smart meters was allegedly suspended, after which additional electricity units were reportedly added to consumers’ bills. The alleged practice is said to have been linked to pressure over electricity theft, recovery and line-loss reduction targets.
If proven, the allegations could raise major questions about the reliability of a technology introduced precisely to make electricity billing more accurate, transparent and resistant to manual interference.
The controversy centres on claims that communication from certain AMI meters was deliberately interrupted. Reports allege that once communication with the meters was stopped, additional units were reflected in consumers’ electricity bills. In some cases, discrepancies were reportedly noticed between the consumption shown on bills and photographs showing the actual meter readings.
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Consumers facing unexpectedly high bills have reportedly struggled to have the discrepancies corrected, adding fuel to an already long-running dispute over LESCO’s billing system. The exact scale of the alleged practice remains unclear. No verified figures have so far been publicly established regarding the number of affected meters, the quantity of allegedly excess units or the feeders involved.
The claims are based on anonymous sources and have not been independently confirmed through LESCO’s meter-data records, a NEPRA ruling or an official investigation.
The explosive allegations come as LESCO is already under intense political scrutiny over consumer complaints. Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan recently chaired a joint meeting of the Law Reforms Committee and Special Committee No. 16, where LESCO Chief Executive Engineer Muhammad Ramzan Butt faced questions over widespread complaints.
Lawmakers reportedly highlighted cases in which consumers were forced to visit multiple LESCO offices and wait for months to get disputed bills corrected. The meeting also addressed load-shedding, with lawmakers questioning why consumers who pay their bills regularly should suffer prolonged outages because of electricity theft elsewhere.
Smart-meter allegation is so serious
AMI controversy is particularly striking because smart meters were introduced to tackle many of the problems now being alleged. AMI technology allows utilities to monitor electricity consumption remotely and transmit meter data through communication networks. LESCO has been expanding its smart-meter programme since at least 2025, with installations aimed at improving billing accuracy, combating theft and reducing dependence on manual meter readings.
The rollout has included plans covering tens of thousands of meters, with particular attention to high-loss areas, industries, tube wells, new connections and selected government offices.
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LESCO has also changed its approach over time, including the use of conventional static meters for certain defective single-phase replacements because of cost considerations, while AMI installations have continued in other categories. That makes the latest allegation especially significant: if communication with AMI meters was deliberately interrupted to facilitate additional billing, it would strike directly at the purpose of the smart-meter system itself.
The latest controversy is unfolding against a long history of complaints about LESCO billing. Consumers have previously reported problems involving incorrect readings, defective meters, estimated consumption, detection bills and allegedly inflated electricity usage.
NEPRA handled numerous consumer cases involving LESCO, with decisions in individual cases ordering bill adjustments, refunds or corrective action. Large-scale audits have also raised concerns about excess billing across the country’s distribution companies.
One previously cited review placed excess billing across DISCOs at around Rs47 billion for a particular period, with LESCO accounting for a major portion. The review involved hundreds of thousands of consumers and hundreds of millions of allegedly excess units. At different stages during 2025 and 2026, LESCO officials claimed substantial improvements in recovery, loss reduction and control of overbilling.
The smart-meter controversy is not the only challenge confronting the power company. Recent Punjab Assembly discussions have also featured allegations involving corruption, alleged extortion, unauthorized raids and disconnections, delays in replacing meters and excessive load-shedding.
LESCO recovery teams visiting residential areas to collect outstanding bills have also prompted questions from consumers over enforcement methods.
Despite the growing political and public pressure, there has so far been no publicly announced major independent investigation specifically focused on the alleged deliberate suspension of AMI meter communication.
