By Sabica Tahira ⏐ 3 months ago ⏐ Newspaper Icon Newspaper Icon 2 min read

Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has rolled out a new campaign, “Know Your Consumer (KYC),” to verify and update electricity user information across its entire network. The initiative aims to strengthen consumer connections, improve complaint handling, and streamline service delivery.

The move comes as part of IESCO’s broader efforts to modernize operations and address gaps in consumer records. Outdated data has created challenges in customer communication, particularly where tenants have moved or owners have passed away. By updating these details, the company seeks to build a more reliable and transparent system.

According to IESCO, field staff including SDOs, meter supervisors, and meter readers will visit premises to collect key data such as CNIC numbers, mobile contacts, occupancy status, and multiple meter details. All meters at the same premises will also be tagged for proper identification.

Key Information Collected Under KYC

Category Details Collected
CNIC Numbers Of owners and tenants
Mobile Contacts Updated phone numbers
Occupancy Status Owner or tenant
Multiple Meters Details of all meters under one consumer
Meter Identification Tagging of all meters at the same premises

Chief Engineer (Commercial) Ghulam Sarwar urged consumers to cooperate with the staff, stressing that the drive is purely for improving services. However, concerns have been raised by traders, who fear the collected data might be shared with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Trader representative Sarfraz Mughal noted that IESCO already has most of this information since CNICs and property documents are required when installing meters. He argued the drive may only be useful in cases of outdated records, while also urging the company to prioritize curbing power theft and lowering tariffs.

IESCO officials reassured consumers that the campaign is strictly for internal use and will not be shared with the FBR. They added that a similar effort in the past failed due to lack of cooperation, particularly from the business community, and expressed hope that this time it would succeed.

This initiative reflects IESCO’s attempt to balance regulatory compliance with consumer convenience, but its success will depend heavily on public cooperation and trust.