Consumers fined ₹40 lakh, 20 power theft cases detected in PSPCL raids in Ludhiana

About 20 kundi (illegal) connections were snapped on Tuesday in raids by Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) officials on the Dairy Complex in Haibowal as part of a drive to check power theft.

Consumers were fined ₹40 lakh for electricity theft and misuse of meters

Working under the directions of A Venu Prasad, CMD, PSPCL and under the observation of DPS Grewal, director distribution, 36 teams (16 distribution executive engineers or XENs, 16 sub divisional officers; four officials of the enforcement wing) and four others participated in the raids.

About 1,227 connections were checked during the day and consumers fined ₹40 lakh for power theft and misuse of electricity meters. Twenty cases of power theft were detected.

According to Grewal, as the teams checked the meters, display screens of 44 machines were found to be out of order or were tampered with. About 73 old meters which were not working were replaced on the spot and sent to labs for testing.

Commenting on the matter, Venu Prasad said PSPCL will continue to conduct such raids to check power theft and ensure that citizens did not suffer because of such unscrupulous practices.

He also appealed to consumers to help PSPCL in this drive and register complaints with the helpline number 1912. “If the line is busy, consumers can SMS 1912 and your complaint will get automatically registered . You will receive a reply from the office,” Prasad added.