Part of the problem has been ascribed to the number of new connections that LESCO makes – about 15,000 a month. It is also understood that tenders have been issued but that no companies have indicated an interest in supplying the meters.
A similar meter shortage is also being experienced by customers of the Ludhiana Punjab State Electricity Board, where more than 5,000 applications for power connections have been received in the Central Zone area alone, which cannot be dealt with because of the lack of meters. In this case the meters are believed to be in the utility’s possession, but cannot be deployed before they have been sent to the standards laboratory for re-testing.