The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) to withdraw the Maximum Demand Indicator (MDI) fixed charges on industrial and commercial consumers. During a meeting with LESCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Chaudhry Muhammad Amin in Lahore, LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that the present economic situation is concerning for the industry, and the MDI charges are causing closure of the industry.

According to a press statement received by WealthPK, Kashif Anwar said that a few months ago, NEPRA imposed the MDI charges on all industrial and commercial consumers according to their sanctioned load. He said 50% of the electricity bill has to be paid without using the units. If they use electricity more than 50% of their allotted load, they will pay the bill according to the units used instead of MDI charges. He said that this decision is badly affecting the business community whose industrial units are closed or work in their industry is done on a seasonal basis. The LESCO CEO explained that the MDI fix charges were imposed by NEPRA.

He said since LECSO is a beneficiary in the case of MDI as it brought revenue for the power distribution companies (DISCOS), the LESCO itself cannot oppose the initiative. He said that this also resulted in setbacks to LESCO as many users went 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.Amin said that as a beneficiary, LESCO cannot oppose the MDI. “However, we will favour the decision to remove MDI fixed charges as LESCO has suffered a lot due to the MDI. We try to keep the consumers with us because even if the industry is closed, it has to restart sometime,” he said. The LESCO CEO said the government is currently focusing on solar energy.

He said that four acres of land is being allocated with 11KV feeders of all the DISCOS in collaboration with the private sector. He said 100 feeders have been selected in this regard with investment of Rs1.7 million.  He said that the government is installing solar panels on all the government buildings and subsidising solar tube wells. “Conventional bulb factories are closing down and energy saving bulbs are being installed. A drive to replace all existing fans has been initiated and feasibility is being made on how old fans will be disposed-off and efficient gadgets and conservation policy is being implemented,” he said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk