Inflated bills follow prolonged outages

LAHORE:

As temperatures climb in Lahore, a wave of electricity outages has deepened public frustration, with residents questioning why soaring power bills persist even as supply remains unreliable.

According to officials, electricity demand on the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) system has surged to around 2,400 megawatts, while supply from the National Power Control Centre (NPCC) is hovering near 2,280MW.

The shortfall, though modest on paper, has translated into hours of load-shedding across large parts of the city.

LESCO authorities say the outages are more pronounced in areas with high line losses and electricity theft, where daily power cuts are lasting two to four hours. The utility maintains that the measures are necessary to stabilise the system and curb financial losses. However, the explanation has done little to calm tempers on the ground.

In neighbourhoods including Green Town, Township, China Scheme, Baghbanpura, GT Road and Sabzazar, as well as semi-urban areas surrounding the provincial capital, prolonged and often unannounced power outages have become routine. Residents in some localities reported being without electricity for more than three consecutive hours, with repeated complaints to the utility drawing little response.

"The bills keep increasing every month, but the electricity disappears without warning," said a resident of Sabzazar, who added that his household is struggling to cope in the sweltering heat. "We are paying for a service we're not even getting."

The sentiment is echoed widely across the city. Many consumers say the unpredictability of outages has disrupted daily life, affecting everything from household routines to small businesses.

Shopkeepers, in particular, report declining sales and rising costs as they turn to backup generators to stay operational.

"It's not just the heat - it's the financial burden," said a shop owner, Muhammad Asif. "Fuel for generators is expensive, electricity bills are already high, and yet we still face hours without power. How is this justified?"