Power Minister orders immediate disciplinary action against worst-performing field officers
Power Minister Awais Leghari has ordered DISCOs to punish officers who mishandled consumer complaints. PESCO and SEPCO have already suspended several officials.
Intelligence analysis by GPT-5.4 Mini
The Power Division reviewed CCMS PLUS complaint data from October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 and found many complaints were resolved late or left unattended. Based on that review, DISCOs are moving against underperforming SDOs and XENs, with public rankings and weekly monitoring planned.
Pakistan’s power minister is acting like a school principal who checks which teachers are helping students and which ones are not. Officers who kept electricity complaints waiting too long may be suspended or moved, and their results may be shown publicly.
Analysis
Federal Minister for Power Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari has ordered all electricity distribution companies to begin disciplinary proceedings against their worst-performing Sub-Divisional Officers and Executive Engineers. The action follows a review of complaint-handling data from the national 118 call centre system, CCMS PLUS, covering October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026.
According to the article, the review found that tens of thousands of complaints about power outages, voltage fluctuations, line faults, and transformer failures were either resolved late or ignored beyond required timelines. PESCO and SEPCO are the first DISCOs to act. PESCO suspended three SDOs and two XENs in total, while SEPCO suspended one SDO and one former XEN and directed them to report to headquarters.
The broader drive is not limited to these two companies. Other DISCOs, including LESCO, GEPCO, FESCO, IESCO, MEPCO, HAZECO, HESCO, QESCO, and TESCO, are also starting action against their worst performers. The article says more than 100 SDOs and XENs across the network have been identified for possible show-cause notices, suspension, or transfer to non-operational posts.
Leghari said the 118 system was meant to connect citizens with electricity providers and that ignoring it undermines consumer welfare. The Power Division also plans weekly monitoring at divisional and sub-divisional level and quarterly public rankings of officers, which would make performance more visible to both the government and the public.
Key points
- PESCO and SEPCO have already suspended officers after poor complaint-handling performance was identified in CCMS PLUS data.
- The minister reviewed complaint data from October 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026 and found many complaints were resolved late or left unattended.
- Other DISCOs are preparing similar disciplinary action against more than 100 identified SDOs and XENs.
- The Power Division will add weekly monitoring and quarterly public rankings for officer performance.
- The government says the goal is better consumer redressal and stronger accountability in the power sector.
If the orders are enforced, complaint handling could improve at the local level and customers may get faster responses to outages and faults. Public rankings and weekly monitoring could also push officers to take the 118 complaint system more seriously.
If the measures are mostly symbolic, the same delays and unattended complaints could continue despite suspensions. The pressure on officers may also shift blame downward unless the DISCOs fix the processes and resources behind the backlog.
