Complain to NEPRA About MEPCO

Last checked 26 September 2026

You can take a MEPCO complaint to NEPRA, the power regulator, once MEPCO has failed to resolve it. NEPRA's complaint rules require a written application to MEPCO first, a wait of 15 days (or the time NEPRA's service manual allows for that problem) and a complaint to NEPRA within one year, filed online on NEPRA's Complaint Management System or through the NEPRA Asaan Approach app. For billing and meter disputes, the Punjab Electric Inspector is a second route. This page covers eligibility, routes, the online form, attachments and what follows.

When can a MEPCO complaint go to NEPRA?

A complaint can go to NEPRA once MEPCO has had a written request and has not resolved it in time. NEPRA's Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution (Procedure) Rules, 2015 and its online form set four conditions:

• A written application to MEPCO first. Rule 3 requires you to approach MEPCO in writing before filing. NEPRA's form asks whether you complained to the distribution company and, if not, advises filing with the SDO or XEN first.
• Time for MEPCO to decide. MEPCO must decide within 15 days, or within the time the Consumer Service Manual sets for that problem, such as 7 days for a wrong meter reading. An application not decided in time counts as rejected.
• A one-year limit. The complaint must be filed within one year of the cause of action. For an older issue, the online form asks you to write to NEPRA's Office of the DG Consumer Affairs and states that such complaints cannot be processed under the 2015 rules.
• No parallel case. The form's affidavit confirms that you have not already complained to NEPRA on the subject and that no suit, appeal, petition or complaint on it is pending before any court, tribunal, forum or board.

Before escalating, make sure your MEPCO complaint is on record; the MEPCO online complaint guide shows how to register and track one on PITC's system.

Which route fits your problem?

Start with MEPCO, then choose between the Electric Inspector and NEPRA according to the problem. Each row of the table is a route open to a MEPCO consumer, with what it handles and how to use it; the Electric Inspector and NEPRA rows follow clauses 15.1.1 to 15.1.4 of NEPRA's Consumer Service Manual, which open both routes when MEPCO's response is unsatisfactory or never comes.

Phone numbers for each MEPCO channel are on the MEPCO complaint numbers page.

How to file a NEPRA complaint online

File on NEPRA's Complaint Management System at nepra.org.pk: answer the eligibility questions, identify your MEPCO connection, attach documents and affirm the affidavit.

1. Open the form. Go to Register Complaint on NEPRA's Complaint Management System. Net-metering complaints have a separate form on the same system.
2. Answer the opening questions. State how old the issue is, whether you complained to MEPCO, and briefly what resulted.
3. Enter your details. CNIC, name, address, city, province and mobile number are required.
4. Identify the connection. Choose existing consumer, enter the account or MEPCO reference number from your bill, select MEPCO as the company and pick your nearest NEPRA complaint office.
5. Write the main points and attach a file. The form has one attachment box. Its note allows a PDF or JPG file of up to 2.5 MB, but the file picker is set to PDF, so scanning your papers into a single PDF is the safer choice.
6. Affirm the affidavit and submit. Keep the complaint tracking number and follow the case on the Track Complaint page.

Other ways to reach NEPRA

NEPRA and MEPCO offer these alternatives to the web form:

• NEPRA Asaan Approach: NEPRA's mobile app for registering and tracking complaints of an urgent nature by phone; NEPRA's poster shows it on Google Play and the App Store.
• MEPCO SMART app: its NEPRA Complaints service escalates a complaint to NEPRA, as the MEPCO SMART app guide explains.
• In writing: NEPRA's DG Consumer Affairs Division is at NEPRA Tower, Attaturk Avenue (East), Sector G-5/1, Islamabad.

What to attach to a NEPRA complaint

Attach proof of the problem and proof that MEPCO had its chance to fix it. NEPRA's rules say a complaint must state your particulars, the facts and grounds, the provision MEPCO breached, the relief you want and the action MEPCO took on your request, supported by copies of the documents you rely on (rule 3(2)). In practice that means:

• your written application to MEPCO, with its receiving stamp or complaint number and date;
• MEPCO's reply, or a note that none came within the time limit;
• the disputed bills, detection bill or disconnection notice, with a current copy of the bill from the MEPCO bill checker;
• payment receipts for the months in question;
• dated meter photos, or the dates and times of a supply problem;
• a one-line statement of the relief you want, such as a corrected bill or restored supply.

The guides to MEPCO bill correction and the MEPCO detection bill list the evidence for those disputes in more detail.

What happens after you file?

NEPRA checks the complaint within 7 working days, registers it and asks MEPCO to reply. The 2015 rules then set this sequence:

1. Check. Within 7 working days NEPRA examines whether the complaint meets rule 3; if it does not, it is returned to be amended and re-filed.
2. Registration. A complete complaint gets a number, and an acknowledgement is sent within 7 days.
3. MEPCO's reply. MEPCO must reply within the time NEPRA sets; without a reply, the complaint may be decided on the available record.
4. Examination. NEPRA examines both sides within 15 days of the reply and may order a further investigation or a site inspection, with at least a week's notice to both parties.
5. Interim orders. NEPRA may pass interim orders while the case runs.
6. Hearing and decision. Both sides get a hearing before the final decision, which MEPCO must comply with (clause 15.1.5 of the service manual); NEPRA can also fine a licensee that broke the rules.

NEPRA's home page reported 14,703 consumer complaints received and 11,261 redressed between 1 January and 31 August 2026, as overall totals with no figure for MEPCO alone. Its Authority Decisions page for MEPCO publishes decisions on complaints filed under section 39.

The Punjab Electric Inspector route

For billing and meter disputes, you can instead plead before the regional Electric Inspector through the Punjab Energy Department's online portal. The Electricity Billing Complaint Portal takes complaints about over-billing, tariff disputes, meter defects and wiring test reports. Filing starts with a short form, and a status page follows the case:

1. Enter the connection. Give the customer ID and reference number printed on your bill.
2. Choose the complaint nature. Metering (defective, fast or slow meter), Billing (over billing, wrong reading, detection bill), Collection of Tariff (wrong tariff) or another connected matter.
3. Describe and attach. Write the complaint and attach supporting documents such as bills, photos or test reports.
4. Track by petition number. The portal's status page looks up each case by its petition number.

A decision of the Electric Inspector can be appealed to NEPRA within 30 days of receiving the order (clause 15.1.2). NEPRA's Appellate Board page for MEPCO lists such appeals against decisions of the Provincial Office of Inspection, Government of the Punjab, Multan Region. If the dispute is about meter accuracy, tell MEPCO in writing that the inspector has been asked to test the meter; the manual then bars MEPCO from removing it before the test (clause 4.3.5).

Sources: NEPRA Complaint Handling and Dispute Resolution (Procedure) Rules, 2015 (S.R.O. 939(I)/2015), rules 3 to 11; NEPRA Complaint Management System, home page, contact page, Authority Decisions and Appellate Board pages (nepra.org.pk), checked 26 September 2026; NEPRA Consumer Service Manual as on 26 November 2025, clauses 4.3.5, 8.2.9 and 15.1; MEPCO mobile app page (mepco.com.pk); Punjab Energy Department Electricity Billing Complaint Portal. Checked 26 September 2026.