PSPCL imposes Rs1.2-cr penalty

Our Corresponent
Ludhiana, September 2

In a constant effort to curb the menace of power theft, teams of the Central Zone of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) checked as many as 11,977 connections during last fortnight and detected 650 cases of power thefts, unauthorised use of electricity (UUE) and unauthorised extension (UE) of load. A penalty of Rs 1.20 crore has been imposed on erring consumers.

The systematic checking of connections and energy meters was carried out from August 17 to August 31, 2020, under the zero tolerance drive started by the PSPCL on the directions of CMD A Venu Prasad and Director (Distribution) DPS Grewal.

PSPCL Chief Engineer (Central Zone) Varinder Pal Singh Saini said out of 650 cases detected by teams, 331 pertained to power thefts, 33 of the UUE and 286 of the UE. A fine amounting to Rs 98.69 lakh, Rs 4.31 lakh and Rs 17.27 lakh was levied on defaulting consumers, respectively, he added.

Specially constituted teams of officials checked 2,293 connections in east circle during this drive, 1,862 in west circle, 4,664 in suburban circle and 3,158 connections in Khanna circle, he said.

Besides charging penalty, FIRs were also registered at the anti-power theft police station against consumers, who were caught stealing power, he added.

The PSPCL was committed to curb the menace of power thefts with a heavy hand to provide uninterrupted supply to its consumers, he said. “Motive behind the drive is to discourage consumers from stealing power and other illegal practices such as overloading and tampering with electricity meters. The ongoing drive will be further intensified and stringent action taken against consumers found violating power consumption norms,” he added.

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