LCCI Wants LESCO to Eliminate MDI Fixed Pricing

LAHORE: On Wednesday, the LESCO Chief was requested by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) to immediately drop the MDI fixed rates.

The current state of the economy is worrying for the business, according to LCCI President Kashif Anwar, and these MDI fees are forcing the industry to close.

The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s LESCO CEO was the subject of his conversation. Members of the Executive Committee and Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt were also present.

The CEO of LESCO said that MDI repair charges were imposed by NEPRA in response to President LCCI’s request to have them removed. LECSO cannot oppose the initiative because it is a Beneficiary in the instance of MDI because it generated revenue for the DISCOs.

He said that this had also caused LESCO to experience setbacks because a large number of users had disconnected from the network as a result of MDI.

The bill had to be paid even in cases where electricity wasn’t used, and the LESCO tariff had also gone up. He claimed that LESCO cannot oppose MDI because it is a benefit.

Nonetheless, as LESCO has suffered greatly as a result of MDI, we will support the decision to eliminate MDI fixed costs.

Even if an industry is shut down, it must eventually resume, therefore we work to retain customers.

According to him, there are numerous rumors about solar net metering that falsely claim that the rate of net metering is falling but is actually not falling at all.

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The government is presently concentrating on solar, according to the CEO of LESCO. According to him, four acres of land with 11KV feeders for all the DISCOs are being allocated in coordination with the private sector.

In this regard, 100 feeders have been chosen with an investment of Rs. 17 crores.

He said that the government is funding solar tubewells and installing solar panels on every government building. Energy-saving bulbs are being installed while traditional bulb companies are closing.

A campaign to replace all current fans has been started, and plans are being created for how to dispose of the old fans while also implementing efficient technology and conservation policies.

CEO stated that WAPDA wires are mixed in with other connections, such as internet cables, phone cables, CCTV camera cables, and many other wires, regarding cluster difficulties in the marketplaces.

Any point that LESCO removes from clusters is re-clustered a year or two later.

In response to the LCCI President’s request that any FIR filed against an industrialist also include the staff of LESCO, the CEO of LESCO stated that we have already suspended five of our SDOs due to access billing and that FIRs are being filed against our own staff members for any misbehavior.

In order to decrease misleading meter readings, he claimed that human intervention has been all but eliminated. The electrical meter snapshot is now permanently attached to the bill, making it impossible to counterfeit.

The meters with fading displays are being changed. Once supplies arrive, we are replacing meters as quickly as possible. According to him, B1 customers will soon have access to sophisticated AMI meters, which will also put an end to other complaints.

He claimed that LESCO had a staffing issue. The hiring of workers for which the advertisement has been published is permitted by the current administration.

Soon, applications will be accepted for 8000 positions for junior workers. He claimed that we filed FIRs against our own employees and the FIA after dismissing five SDOs due to complaints over access billing.

The cops, according to him, have explicit instructions on how to transfer meters. The business sector should file complaints at least with the SDO level. In addition, you may manage your load, make new connections, and file complaints using our LESCO Lite application.

According to LCCI President Kashif Anwar, NEPRA recently levied Maximum Demand Indicator (MDI) fees on all industrial and commercial consumers based on their authorized load.

Without using the units, half of the electricity cost must be paid. They will pay the bill based on the units consumed rather than MDI fees if they use more electricity than 50% of their permitted load.

He claimed that the business community, whose industrial facilities are shut down or whose industry depends on seasonal activity, is being negatively impacted by this decision.

He stated that we have learned that a plan to lower the rate of net metering is being considered. In the event that such a choice is made, it will deter the government from pushing the use of renewable energy, particularly solar.

He said that MDI fees should be promptly reversed and that the CEO should do his share to keep the Net Metering rate steady.

The president of the LCCI stated that despite our continuous calls for action about the numerous accidents that have happened as a result of hanging electric lines in the marketplaces.

He hoped that this element would receive special consideration.

He claimed that the presidents of the markets frequently voice their displeasure over the installation of a greater capacity transformer in one area of their market, despite having to fight hard for approval.

As this situation is followed up on, the concerned personnel continually come up with reasons why they can’t take the appropriate action.

He recommended that LESCO continue to enhance the method for distributing electricity bills. Our members frequently complain that they only receive their electricity bills one day before the due date.

The LESCO personnel disconnects the connection within a few days after not receiving the bill in a timely manner, which causes additional problems.

According to Kashif Anwar, if there is blurring in the meter image on the bill, the units are recorded significantly higher than the actual reading, which is also very challenging to fix. The users must submit their bills before the deadline even in cases of rush hour or system failure at the relevant offices.

In addition to this, he added, the LESCO personnel sends bills based on annual average use in cases of meter damage. Since there is a significant difference between how much electricity is used in the winter and the summer, LESCO also sends the average consumption from the same month the year before.

According to the LCCI President, power theft and line losses also contribute to energy shortages. Despite the fact that LESCO’s line losses reached 11.52% in 2021–22, they should drop to less than 10%.

He suggested that LESCO launch a campaign to educate the public about energy conservation and persuade users to use electrical gadgets that consume less energy. Lahore Chamber will support LESCO in this way.