LESCO Refunds Rs. 80 Billion to Consumers After Overbilling Them

The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has refunded Rs. 80 billion to consumers after overbilling, Energy Minister Awais Leghari informed the Senate Standing Committee on Power on Friday. Leghari indicated that although there is no immediate prospect of a uniform reduction in electricity tariffs by Rs. 20, efforts are being made to introduce smaller reductions of Rs. 0.20. He assured that positive developments are expected in the coming weeks, with no violation of agreements at the government level. The minister briefed the committee on the ongoing discussions with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to reduce their profits. A task force is reviewing the operations of power plants to determine which should remain active and which should be closed. He said the task force is also reviewing state-owned power plants and is closely examining issues related to furnace oil and coal rates in the market. Meanwhile, the committee members discussed the pricing of bagasse power plants and weren’t all too happy with discrepancies in the cost of bagasse at $75-356 per ton. The committee urged for a review of the pricing mechanism and said bagasse is a byproduct of sugarcane, a local raw material, and should have a consistent and transparent rate. Chairman National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) acknowledged that a framework for bagasse and biomass was introduced in 2013, but no mechanism exists to determine its price. The committee called for an immediate review of the issue.