E-Paper
Ludhiana: ₹26.22 crore power theft detected in a year according to PSPCL
PSPCL uncovered ₹26.22 crore in power theft in Ludhiana from April 2025 to March 2026, recovering ₹19.72 crore, with ongoing enforcement efforts.
Ludhiana The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has detected power theft and irregularities worth ₹26.22 crore in Ludhiana between April 2025 and March 2026, according to an enforcement data released by the utility. Of this, ₹19.72 crore has been recovered through penalties and corrective action.
The data shows that enforcement teams checked 1,87,181 electricity connections during the period and detected 16,330 cases involving theft, unauthorised usage and meter-related violations across City East, City West, Suburban and Khanna circles.
Among these, City East recorded the highest assessed amount of over ₹10.92 crore, followed by City West at ₹9.28 crore. Suburban and Khanna circles also reported significant violations, indicating that the problem extends beyond urban areas into semi-urban and peripheral regions.
Officials said the figures underline the scale and spread of electricity theft in Ludhiana, which has a dense mix of industrial, commercial and residential consumers. They added that while a substantial portion of the assessed amount has been recovered, a gap still remains due to delayed payments and cases under process.
“Power theft not only results in financial losses but also affects the overall reliability of the electricity network,” said Jagdev Singh Hans, chief engineer, PSPCL Central Zone, Ludhiana. “We are continuously carrying out enforcement drives, and strict action is being taken wherever violations are detected,” he added.
Officials said illegal connections and meter tampering often lead to feeder overloading, voltage fluctuations and frequent breakdowns, directly impacting supply quality for legitimate consumers.
The data also reflects a shift in violation patterns, with urban and industrial areas increasingly contributing through methods such as meter bypassing and unauthorised load extension.
Within Ludhiana, high-load areas such as Focal Point, Model Town and industrial belts remain particularly vulnerable due to high consumption and network complexity. Enforcement efforts have also intensified, with teams carrying out targeted inspections in high-loss and repeat-offender areas.
With electricity demand set to rise during the summer and paddy season, officials said controlling power theft will be critical to maintaining grid stability and ensuring uninterrupted supply.
