Minister directs PSPCL to carry checks to detect power thefts

Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh has given strict directions to the officials of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to carry out special checks across the state to address the issue of power thefts in accordance with the department’s zero tolerance policy against corruption.

He said regular stringent checks were necessary to curb revenue losses incurred by the state government, besides ensuring better services to the regular consumers of the state.

The Minister asked the PSPCL officials concerned to provide him reports on the checks on a daily. He said all the power connections, including domestic, commercial, agricultural and industrial should be checked.

He said laxity would not be tolerated and any PSPCL/PSTCL employee found indulging in power thefts directly or indirectly would not be spared at any cost. He added any such employee would be terminated as per Powercom rules with immediate effect and strict action would be initiated as per the law. He asked the Distribution and Enforcement Teams to adhere to the instructions, else remain ready to face strict action.

The Minister also directed officials concerned to impose penalties and register FIRs against those found indulging in power theft.

He added the Distribution and Enforcement Wings of PSPCL had done remarkable work in checking power connections, detecting thefts during the recently launched drives in the state. He said, so far, a total 81,262 connections were checked. Of these, thefts were detected and a penalty of approximately Rs 13.30 crore was imposed on the defaulters.

Giving zone-wise details, the Minister said in Amritsar, a total of 27,285 connections were checked. Of these, thefts were detected in 989 cases and a penalty of Rs 3.01 crore was imposed.