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Ludhiana: PSPCL slapped fines worth ₹7.8 cr for power theft this year
With a total of 40 raids conducted this year, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) slapped fines worth ₹7.8 crore over power theft till the end of July, officials aware of the development said on Wednesday.
{Central zone}
With a total of 40 raids conducted this year, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) slapped fines worth ₹7.8 crore over power theft till the end of July, officials aware of the development said on Wednesday.
They added that 30,000 connections were checked across the central zone, which covers Ludhiana and some areas of the neighbouring districts.
According to officials, 313 cases of power theft were flagged during the raids. Among other infractions, officials said 498 cases of meter tampering were also found.
They said these included 58 cases of unauthorised electricity and 43 cases of unauthorised use of electricity.
In the parlance of the PSPCL, unauthorised electricity is a violation when a consumer puts more than the sanctioned load of the electricity on the grid. Unauthorised use of electricity is when a connection used as domestic is being used for commercial purposes.
PSPCL central zone enfoecement cell’s superintendent engineer Baljinder Singh Sandhu said, “We are always active to catch cases of electricity theft. Our teams conduct raids every week and fine those stealing from us.”
“We have issued notices to all the people who were caught stealing electricity and according to our assessment, the total amount for all the penalties is ballparked at ₹7.8 crore,” he added.
The latest of the raids came on Tuesday when PSPCL officials checked 296 connections and slapped fines worth ₹25 lakh on 37 violators found stealing electricity. To be sure, the CRPF colony in question is not related to the Central Reserve Police Force.
These raids are jointly conducted by the enforcement and distribution cells of the PSPCL. The raiding parties are accompanied by police personnel to ensure their safety.
