The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has reportedly withdrawn the free electricity unit facility for its officers in Grades 18 to 20, requiring them to pay their electricity bills for the first time in nearly three decades.
According to sources within LESCO, the move marks the end of a long-standing benefit that had been available to senior officers for around 30 years.
Under the previous policy, Grade 18 officers received up to 6,000 free electricity units annually, while Grade 19 officers were entitled to 8,000 units and Grade 20 officers received 10,000 free units each year.
Sources said that while LESCO has implemented the withdrawal of the facility, officers in several other power distribution companies (DISCOs) have obtained stay orders from courts, allowing them to continue receiving free electricity.
LESCO officers have reportedly argued that the restoration of the benefit in other DISCOs is not justified and have called for a uniform policy across the power sector.
They urged the Ministry of Energy to introduce a consistent nationwide policy by ending the free electricity facility for officers in all distribution companies rather than allowing different rules to apply in different organizations.
The development comes as the government continues efforts to reduce costs and reform the country’s power sector. However, neither the Ministry of Energy nor LESCO had issued an official statement on the reported policy change at the time of filing this report.
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