Power stolen to keep meter reading below 600 for ‘zero’ bill, state loses Rs 1,000 crore

Tribune News Service

Aman Sood

Patiala, December 23

Ghost consumers continue to steal power worth Rs 1,000 crore per annum, despite the Punjab Government providing 600 units of free electricity to domestic consumers.

Maximum cases of power theft have been reported in the border areas of Tarn Taran and Amritsar.

Data collected from Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL) shows that the total number of feeders facing power thefts have come down from 2,980 to 2,714 till September 2023. However, the number of feeders suffering loss between 80 and 90 per cent has increased from one to 11.

The Central zone is the only place where only 43 feeders have 15 to 25 per cent line losses. In the West zone, more feeders have reported line losses as compared to the Border zone.

The maximum of 84.97 pr cent losses have been witnessed in Khemkaran of Tarn Taran circle. The worst divisions in the Tarn Taran circle, Border zone, include Bhikhiwind and Patti.

In the sub-urban circle, West division has seven feeders with more than 70 per cent losses.

In the West zone, Bhagta Bhai Ka division of Bathinda circle tops the list of feeders with 87.37 per cent line losses. In the West zone, Bathinda, Ferozepur and Muktsar circles are among theft prone areas. Even Badal division has 17 feeders with losses between 50 and 60 per cent.

VK Gupta, spokesperson, All India Power Engineers’ Federation, said, “In the Border and West zones, there is strong resistance by locals, including farmers against the meter checking by PSPCL officials. The shifting of meters, from inside houses to poles outside, is not being allowed. Even the move to change electro-mechanical meters with electronic ones is not being allowed.”

He said, “In Punjab, electricity worth Rs 1,000 crore is stolen annually.”

The documents accessed by The Tribune indicate that the number of feeders above 50 per cent losses in PSPCL have increased from 362 to 414 feeders. “A total of 158 feeders in the Border and West zones have more than 60 per cent line losses. The Central, North and South zones have zero feeders with more than 60 per cent line losses,” mentions the documents.

“There are 11 feeders where line losses are more than 80 per cent. These include 10 in the Border zone and one in the West zone,” reads the document.

Similarly, the Border zone has 25 feeders with losses between 70 to 80 per cent line losses while the West zone has six feeders. “The losses of 60 to 70 per cent in 116 feeders are in 65 feeders of the Border zone and 51 feeders of the West zone,” said a PSPCL official.

“There are 256 feeders with losses between 50 and 60 per cent comprising 133 in West zone, 90 in Border zone and 33 in South zone. The feeders with losses of 25 to 50 per cent are 999, 565 in the West zone followed by 266 in the South zone,” said an official.

“Thousand of consumers resort to power theft to keep their bi-monthly reading below 600 units. Besides power theft is a way of life in the Border zone,” said a top PSPCL official. “Many villages are getting supply from feeders where the transmission loss is 90 per cent. It means only a few consumers in villages do not resort to power theft,” said Gupta.

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