MEPCO Overbilling and Bill Correction

Last checked 26 September 2026

To get a wrong MEPCO bill corrected, register a billing complaint with your sub-division, a customer service centre or PITC's online complaint system, and back it with the bill, a dated photo of your meter and any payment receipts. NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual gives MEPCO 7 days to correct an error caused by a wrong meter reading or a wrong calculation of charges. This guide covers the checks to run first, the filing steps, the deadline for each billing problem, meter tests, paying while you dispute, and where to escalate.

Check the bill against your meter first

An overbilled bill charges for more units or money than the rules allow, through causes such as a wrong or estimated reading, a long billing cycle, a defective meter, a wrong tariff or an uncredited payment. If a bill has suddenly doubled, open it with the MEPCO bill checker, keep the meter in view and run these five checks:

Compare the readings. The present reading on the bill should not be higher than the reading your meter shows today; if it is, the bill reading cannot be right.
Look at the meter photo. NEPRA's manual makes a snapshot of every reading mandatory, printed on the bill with a time stamp and geo-tag (clauses 6.1.3 and 6.1.3.1). A blurred photo, or one that does not match the billed reading, is a ground for complaint; a Power Smart correction screen shown in PITC's overbilling action plan lists both.
Count the days in the cycle. MEPCO reads meters once a month on the date printed on the bill. When a cycle overruns because of force majeure or an unforeseen situation, the manual requires pro-rata billing: units are scaled to the length of the calendar month and the rest carried forward. Its own example, in a 30-day month, bills 309 units read over 33 days as 281 units at the 201-300 slab rate, with 28 units moved to the next bill.
Look for estimates. "est def" marks a bill estimated because the meter was declared defective. Where several months' readings were billed together, the manual requires separate monthly bills so the slab benefit is kept (clause 6.4.2).
Read the history box. The bill carries 12 months of billing and payment history. A payment missing from it can be put right the same day when you show the original paid bill.

How to get a MEPCO bill corrected

To get a MEPCO bill corrected, make a written complaint with evidence, get a complaint number and a date for the answer, and follow it up before that date. These steps suit wrong readings, estimates, arrears and surcharges; a MEPCO detection bill has its own notice and review procedure.

Photograph the meter. Take a sharp, dated photo of the reading and the meter's serial number. MEPCO's Apna Meter Apni Reading service in the Power Smart app works on the same idea: your photo is compared with the meter reader's. The guide to reading your MEPCO meter shows what to capture.
Collect your papers. Keep the bills, receipts and photos listed below together.
Register the complaint. Use any of these official channels:
- your sub-division office, customer service centre or one-window counter, where billing complaints are registered and given a date for correction (clause 10.3.2); MEPCO's FAQ sends wrong-reading cases to the customer service centre in your area or at MEPCO headquarters;
- PITC's Customer Complaint Management System, where MEPCO's own Complaint Cell link leads: pick Non-Line Complaints, then Excess Billing or Wrong Meter Reading, the types listed as of September 2026. The web form had no attachment field when checked, so send your photos by email to ccms@pitc.com.pk, which PITC lists as a complaint channel;
- the 118 helpline, or an SMS to 8118 giving your reference number, the problem, your mobile number and your name;
- a meter reading correction request in the Power Smart app, if your version offers one: PITC's overbilling action plan, posted on MEPCO's website in August 2025, shows a Meter Reading Correction screen that asks for the reading you claim and whether the meter images do not match the current reading or are blurred.
Keep the complaint number. PITC acknowledges complaints automatically within 24 hours, and the office handling a billing complaint must give you a date for the correction. Following a ticket is covered in the MEPCO online complaint guide.
Check the corrected bill. Confirm that the revised or next bill shows the correction before you pay it.
Escalate if the date passes. The routes are set out further down this page.

Evidence to keep until the case is closed

Keep these records together until MEPCO confirms the correction:

Dated photos of the meter reading and serial number, ideally taken on the reading date.
The disputed bill and earlier bills, including the 12-month history box.
Payment receipts or banking transaction IDs for the months in question.
Complaint and ticket numbers, and copies of letters with the office's receiving stamp.
Reading SMS messages: the manual asks distribution companies to text the units recorded and the scheduled and actual reading dates after each reading (clause 6.1.3.2).
Every notice, reply or revised bill MEPCO sends.

MEPCO must keep its reading snapshots for 12 months for billing disputes before NEPRA, the Electric Inspector or a court (clause 6.1.3), so keep your own records for the same period.

How long does MEPCO have to correct a bill?

MEPCO has 7 days from receiving your complaint to correct a bill made wrong by a wrong meter reading or a wrong calculation of charges. Clause 10.3.1 of NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual sets other limits for other billing problems.

Each row of the table is a billing problem; the second column gives the time the manual allows to fix it, counted from receipt of the complaint unless the row says otherwise.

Billing problem	Time allowed under the manual
Wrong meter reading or wrong calculation of charges	7 days
Arithmetical error in the bill	Corrected at once by the revenue officer or the SDO
Paid amount added again to the next bill	Same day, on showing the original paid bill to the revenue officer, or to the bank manager or post office in-charge where you paid
Late payment surcharge charged by mistake, for example after a late or lost bank scroll	3 days
Adjustments arising from matters such as a due date extension or surcharge waiver	3 days
Bill delivered too late to leave 7 clear days for payment	Due date can be extended without surcharge
Defective meter	Replaced as soon as possible, no later than 2 billing cycles
Detection bill	15 days
First bill of a new connection	Bill due within 2 months of connection; complaints settled within 15 days
Tariff change	30 days

PITC's complaint system works to a general target of 14 days. For a wrong reading or a wrong calculation, cite the 7-day limit in clause 10.3.1(a) of the manual when you complain. If MEPCO charged a higher tariff than the one that applies, clause 7.6 allows credit going back 6 months from the date you point the error out.

What if the meter itself is faulty?

You can ask MEPCO to test the meter for a challenge fee of Rs 500 on a single-phase or Rs 1,000 on a three-phase connection, charged through a demand notice. The test must be done in your presence within 7 working days of payment, with a check meter or testing equipment (clause 4.3.4). The result decides who pays:

Meter found fast: MEPCO replaces it at its own cost and credits the excess units for up to two previous billing cycles.
Meter found slow or defective: MEPCO replaces it at its own cost, and the slowness is charged to you for two previous billing cycles.

You can instead ask the Electric Inspector to test the meter. Once you tell MEPCO in writing, the meter must stay in place until the inspector's test, which the manual requires within one month of your request, and any debit or credit is limited to two months (clause 4.3.5).

For a meter already declared defective, average billing is capped at two months, and earlier months cannot be charged if the meter was correct up to the last billing cycle (clause 4.3.1). If MEPCO bills a defective meter on average and you produce documentary proof that the premises was unoccupied, only minimum charges are payable (clause 4.3.6). Replacement is covered under MEPCO meter change and faulty meter replacement.

Do you have to pay a bill you are disputing?

NEPRA's manual has no rule for paying only the undisputed part of a bill, and it does not say that a complaint pauses the due date. It does set out when an unpaid bill leads to disconnection:

One unpaid monthly bill is not a ground for disconnection (clause 8.2.3).
An unpaid bill brings a notice of 7 clear days with the second month's bill, and disconnection after that bill's due date (clauses 8.2.2 and 8.2.4).
A NEPRA restraining order on a billing complaint prevents disconnection, but current bills must still be paid (clause 8.2.9).
MEPCO may extend a due date, and no late payment surcharge is charged when it does (clauses 6.8.1 and 6.8.3); the MEPCO SMART app has a due date extension request.

In practice, complain before the due date and ask the office in writing what to pay while the complaint is open. If supply has already been cut, the steps are in the MEPCO disconnection and reconnection guide.

Where to escalate if MEPCO does not correct the bill

Escalate once MEPCO rejects the complaint or lets its deadline pass. Three routes are open, and every MEPCO contact number is on the MEPCO complaint numbers page.

PITC's quality team

If a complaint on PITC's system was closed without a fix, write to its Head of Quality and Assurance at qaccms@pitc.com.pk.

The Electric Inspector

The manual lets consumers take metering, billing and tariff collection disputes to the Provincial Office of Inspection under section 38 of the NEPRA Act (clause 15.1.2). In Punjab, the Energy Department's Electricity Billing Complaint Portal registers over-billing, wrong reading and detection bill complaints for the regional Electric Inspector, using the customer ID and reference number printed on your bill. An inspector's decision can be appealed to NEPRA within 30 days of receiving the order.

NEPRA

NEPRA's complaint rules require a written application to MEPCO first. If MEPCO does not decide it within 15 days, or within the time the manual sets, the application counts as rejected and you can complain to NEPRA, within one year of the cause of action. The guide to a NEPRA complaint against MEPCO covers the online form, the NEPRA option in the MEPCO SMART app and what to attach.

Mistakes that make a bill dispute harder

Avoid these while a bill is in dispute:

Do not pay anyone privately to adjust a bill. PITC warns never to send money for a bill adjustment, a meter or any other electricity service to a person's Easypaisa, JazzCash or bank account, and to report such demands to 118.
Do not touch the meter or its seals. Broken seals, a missing terminal cover and holes in the meter body are among the signs that start an illegal abstraction investigation (clause 9.2.1).
Do not rely on a phone call alone. PITC advises written complaints, and NEPRA's complaint rules require a written application to MEPCO before a complaint to NEPRA.
Do not let the due date pass unnoticed. Arrange an extension or payment before the second month's bill brings a disconnection notice.

Sources: NEPRA Consumer Service Manual as on 26 November 2025, clauses 4.3, 6.1, 6.4, 6.8, 7.5.5, 7.6, 8.2, 9.2.1, 10.3 and 15.1 (copy circulated by MEPCO on 28 November 2025); NEPRA Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution (Procedure) Rules, 2015; MEPCO FAQ page and Apna Meter Apni Reading guide (mepco.com.pk, 2025); PITC overbilling action plan (posted on mepco.com.pk, August 2025); PITC Customer Complaint Management System; Punjab Energy Department Electricity Billing Complaint Portal. Checked 26 September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is a bill adjustment on a MEPCO bill?

It is a correction MEPCO makes to your account after a billing error is accepted, for example a credit for excess units when a meter is found fast. Pay any related charge only through official channels: PITC warns never to send money for a bill adjustment to anyone's personal account.

Can MEPCO charge me later for units or charges it missed?

Only within limits. Charges MEPCO skipped, such as the multiplying factor, MDI or fixed charges, can be billed within one year for at most 6 months, on a supplementary bill that shows the reason, amount, period and taxes. If MEPCO applied a lower tariff than the correct one when it sanctioned the connection, no difference is charged.

What happens if my meter was not read this month?

MEPCO's FAQ says to contact your sub-division. If a reading is impossible because of force majeure, NEPRA's manual lets you send a photo of your meter for actual billing, or MEPCO may issue a provisional average bill and later a bill with slab benefit from the actual reading.

How do I track a MEPCO billing complaint?

On PITC's complaint system you can track it by reference number or by ticket number. In the MEPCO SMART app, use Track Complaints with the tracking ID you were given.