LAHORE:The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday urged the Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) to remove immediately the fixed MDI (Maximum Demand Indicator) charges.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that present economic situation was concerning for the industry and these MDI charges were causing closure of the industry.
He was talking to the LESCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chaudhry Muhammad Amin, who visited the Lahore Chamber. Vice President Adnan Khalid Butt and Executive Committee members were also present.
The LESCO chief explained that MDI fix charges were imposed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). Since LECSO was a beneficiary in the case of MDI as it brought revenue for the Discos (distribution companies), the LESCO itself could not oppose the initiative, he added.
He said that this has also resulted in setbacks to LESCO as many users have gone off-net and disconnected their connections due to MDI. The reason was that the bill had to be paid even in case of non-use of electricity and the tariff was also increased. He said that as a beneficiary, LESCO cannot oppose MDI. “However, we will favour the decision to remove MDI fixed charges as LESCO has suffered a lot due to MDI. We try to keep the consumer with us because even if the industry is closed, it has to restart sometime,” he maintained.
Chaudhry Muhammad Amin said that there were rumors regarding solar net metering, in which it is being said that the rate of net metering was being reduced but the rate was not being reduced at all.
He said that government was currently focusing on solar. He said that four acres of land was being allocated with 11KV feeders of all the DISCOS in collaboration with the private sector. 100 feeders have been selected in this regard with the investment of Rs 170 million.
The LCCI president said that line losses and power theft were also contributing to energy shortfalls. Although LESCO’s line losses had come up to 11.52 per cent in 2021-22, it should be further brought down to less than 10pc.
He said that LESCO should also conduct a campaign to raise public awareness about saving electricity and encourage consumers to use electrical appliances that use less electricity. In this regard, Lahore Chamber would help the LESCO.