Punjab government initiates steps to check power theft

The Punjab government has initiated several steps to check power theft in the state, including curtailing transmission and distribution (T&D) losses of electricity.

The Punjab government has initiated several steps to check power theft in the state, including curtailing transmission and distribution (T&D) losses of electricity.

A spokesman for deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also holds the power portfolio, said Punjab would be the first state in the country to have all urban areas with underground power cable network in order to have wire-free roads and uninterrupted power supply with a investment of Rs 2,000 crore.

The spokesman stated that to create best power infrastructure in the state, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had implemented major initiatives to control the theft of energy and scaling down T&D losses.

The steps include shifting of the low-voltage distribution system to the high-voltage system, replacement of ordinary lamps with CFLs (compact fluorescent lamps), addition of capacitors, shifting of meters outside consumers’ premises, upgradation and strengthening of the distribution system, and automated meter reading facilities.

He said such measures had resulted in dropping of the peak demand by about 1,000 MW and saving of 1,200 MUs (million units) annually.

Power