Around 10,000 litres of oil stolen from 12 power transformers in Sector 105

Officials at PVVNL said the incident came to fore when a junior employee, who was on duty for the ongoing one-time settlement scheme, conducted an inspection of the substation, on Friday

Power distribution company, Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (PVVNL), said its 12 transformers at the Sector 105 substation were tampered with and around 10,000 litres of oil, worth around ₹9 lakh, was stolen by unidentified persons. Gautam Budh Nagar police said a complaint was received and an FIR was registered in the incident.

PVVNL officials discovered that the thieves had broke open the cage as the doors were found unlocked with damaged latches. As many as 12 transformers, including those of 1,000 kV capacity, were tampered with for stealing the oil (HT Photo)

Officials at PVVNL said the incident came to fore when a junior employee, who was on duty for the ongoing one-time settlement scheme, conducted an inspection of the substation, on Friday.

Kapil Muni, subdivisional officer (SDO), PVVNL, under whose jurisdiction falls the Sector 105 substation, said, “During a routine inspection on Friday, oil spills were spotted on the ground where transformers were placed following which, we raised the alarm and conducted a thorough inspection of the place. We discovered that the thieves and had broke open the cage as the doors were found unlocked with damaged latches. As many as 12 transformers, including those of 1,000 kV capacity, were tampered with for stealing the oil some of which was also spilt on the floor.”

Officials said a team of senior officials from the discom later inspected the substation to ascertain more details about the incident and the local police was apprised of the theft subsequently. “We are scanning the CCTV footage from the area to identify the culprits.We are also taking the assistance of locals from the vicinity,” said the SDO.

“An FIR has been registered at the anti-power theft police station in Sector 63B against unidentified persons under Section 136 of Electricity Act, 2003. Process of identifying and apprehending the suspects is underway,” said station house officer Manu Kumari.

Meanwhile, areas under Sector 105 substation had to suffer power outages on Friday, in the aftermath of the theft, as the discom had to make arrangements to refill the oil. Supply was restored after the oil was procured and refilled in the transformers, later on Friday, said PVVNL.

“The primary function of oil in a transformer is to insulate and cool a transformer. As the oil was stolen, the level went too low, resulting in overheating of equipment. Delaying refilling could have resulted in the transformer catching fire due to overheating,” Muni said.