Islamabad: Mismanagement in the energy sector has finally paid off! Nepra has imposed financial penalties on LESCO and K-Electric for their poor performance and has also given a clear message: protecting public money is the top priority.
According to Nepra’s latest detailed report, LESCO completely failed to reduce transmission and distribution losses in the last fiscal year, 2023-24. System losses reached 15.92 percent, which is much higher than the set target, and this poor performance caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer.
According to sources, despite repeated notices and clarifications from the authority, the company could not give a satisfactory response, after which action became inevitable.
On the other hand, K-Electric is facing a fine for administrative incompetence in the 2023 nationwide power breakdown. A NEPRA inquiry revealed that the black start mechanism designed to restore power in emergency situations left no way for power to be restored, and the system completely failed.
The authority has directed both the companies to pay the fine within 15 days. Energy experts say that this move is also a warning to the rest of the distribution companies that there is no room for negligence and delay now — show performance or suffer the consequences!
