LESCO chief upbeat about company future

By Waqar Gillani

LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has chalked out a comprehensive programme to root out corrupt officers and ensure subscribers do not default on payments, chief executive Brig Riaz Ahmed Toor told Daily Times on Monday.

During the two months that he has served as Lesco chief, Mr Toor says he has fired a number of employees, including sub divisional officers, who were not pulling their weight.

The CE declined to specify the number of employees he had let go. He added that 2,500 new staffers including 40 sub divisional officers would be soon hired
on merit.

Mr Toor said Lesco was owed Rs 336.12 million from public and private sector subscribers and that most of them had been disconnected because of non-
payment.

He added that a list of top 20 defaulters would be published each month and a policy
devised for recovering dues
from them.

The chief executive said the company was generating Rs 42 billion annually but that its training costs and other expenditures were between Rs 80 and 150 million resulting.

He added that Lesco was selling 14 to 15 percent more energy than its capacity and that line losses stood at 15.5 percent – seven percent of which are technical line losses.

Lesco, Mr Toor said, has prepared a comprehensive plan to improve customer services. “A customer services centre will be set up on the ground floor of the Lesco building,” he said.

The company, a subsidiary of WAPDA (Water and Power Development Authority),
would also be hiring educated women staff to interface
with customers.

The CE also said a system had been devised to ensure power tripping and power outages were minimised.

Mr Toor expects this system to be approved in the upcoming meeting of the chiefs of distribution companies (DisCos) and the Wapda chief.

“Despite the fact it is nearly impossible to change our government job culture,” Mr Toor said.

“I have also prepared a plan to train staffers and improve the efficiency of the company and this plan shall soon be
implemented.”

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