PSPCL detects over 3k cases of power theft, imposes ₹7 cr fine

Punjab power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said that the enforcement wing of the Punjab state power corporation limited played a key role during the state-wide campaign

The two-day state-wide drive launched in Punjab by the state power department concluded on Monday with detection of 3,349 theft cases and imposition of ₹7.66 crore penalties. As many as 50,781 power connections were examined during the drive.

As many as 50,781 power connections were examined during the drive on Monday (HT File)

Stating this, state power minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said the successful completion of the checking drive was aimed at detecting power theft and promoting power savings.

The minister said that on the second day of the drive on Sunday, the distribution and enforcement wing of the Punjab state power corporation limited (PSPCL) inspected 22,288 power connections, detected 1,274 cases of theft and imposed a fine of ₹3.02 crore on the consumers. “The surprise checks will continue in future also to completely curb power theft,” the minister said.

Giving details, the minister said that the distribution wing of PSPCL has carried extensive checks in South Zone (Patiala), Central Zone (Ludhiana), North Zone (Jalandhar), Border Zone (Amritsar) and West Zone (Bathinda). “Collectively 42,396 connections were checked and 3,073 cases of power thefts were and imposed fines of ₹6.68 crore.

ETO further informed that the enforcement wing of the PSPCL also played a key role during the state-wide campaign. “During the investigation of 8,385 connections by the enforcement wing, power theft was detected in 276 cases and a fine of ₹1.18 crore was imposed on the consumers,” he added.