Power theft burdens consumers, says social activist

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, September 13

Though the PSPCL’s enforcement wing continues to tighten the noose around those involved in power theft, the menace goes on unabated due to which tariff is often hiked by the state government.

Socil activist MK Sharma, who is also a Congress leader, says, “It is disheartening to learn that the PSPCL is still incurring a loss of about Rs 1,000 crore per annum due to power thefts. Unscrupulous elements have devised different ways for stealing power. As per a new trend, miscreants, in connivance with black sheep in the PSPCL, tamper with electricity meters. Thereafter, they burn their meters so that they may be issued next bills in accordance with their previous bill average.”

He added that those involved in power thefts were actually burdening the honest customers as the power tariff is decided on the basis of overall expenses incurred.

Kamal Dalmia, an industrialist, said power tariffs in the state were higher than those in adjoining states. He rued that the state government had promised industrialists power supply at Rs 5 per unit, but it turned out to be a hollow one as traders were being forced to cough up nearly double. He said new industrial units couldn’t flourish amidst such high power charges.

PSPCL Chief Engineer (Border zone) Sandeep Kumar Sood said a special wing had been formed which continuously raided the suspected places to detect and penalise those involved in power thefts.