Power ministry orders action against Disco officers over complaint delays

ISLAMABAD: The government has ordered immediate disciplinary proceedings against underperforming officers and staff in power distribution companies over delays in resolving consumer complaints, after a review of national complaint-handling data showed large numbers of cases were either addressed late or left unresolved within the prescribed time.

According to the Power Division, the directives were issued by Power Minister Awais Leghari following a detailed assessment of complaint data drawn from the Customer Complaint Management System (CCMS+), the national 118 call centre. The review covered the period from Oct 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, and included complaints related to electricity outages, voltage fluctuations, line faults and transformer tripping.

The Power Division said the data pointed to what it described as a serious pattern of neglect, with tens of thousands of complaints not handled within the stipulated resolution windows. It said these delays directly led to prolonged power disruptions for consumers in both urban and rural areas.

Worst performers identified

The ministry said it had identified the worst-performing officers in each distribution company on the basis of complaints resolved late within their jurisdictions. These lists have been formally sent to the chief executives of all Discos for immediate departmental action against sub-divisional officers and executive engineers.

The Power Division said Mr Leghari expressed grave disappointment over the failure of the identified officers to carry out their basic responsibility of ensuring timely redress of complaints. It said he directed that disciplinary proceedings, including suspension where warranted, should begin without delay and be completed in a time-bound manner under the relevant service rules.

The minister also said the CCMS+ had been created to narrow the gap between electricity consumers and service providers, and that any officer showing indifference to the system was undermining the government’s commitment to consumer welfare, according to the Power Division.

Suspensions begin in Pesco and Sepco

Acting on the directives, Peshawar Electric Supply Company and Sukkur Electric Power Company have already initiated disciplinary action against officers identified as the poorest performers in complaint resolution.

The Power Division said Pesco suspended three SDOs and one Xen with immediate effect on grounds of misconduct, citing failure to meet prescribed performance targets reflected in CCMS+ data. It added that Sepco suspended one SDO and one former Xen with immediate effect, also on account of misconduct linked to poor performance in resolving complaints registered through the 118 system.

The accountability exercise is not confined to those two utilities, the Power Division said. It added that other distribution companies, including Lesco, Gepco, Fesco, Iesco, Mepco, Hazeco, Hesco, Qesco and Tesco, are also in the process of starting disciplinary proceedings against their respective worst-performing officers.

The action follows the ministry’s review of how consumer complaints were handled over the six-month period, with the Power Division linking delayed redress directly to service interruptions experienced by electricity users across the country.