Despite the facility of 300 units of free electricity per month, it sounds strange to hear about electricity theft, but officials say that cases of electricity theft start increasing in hot and humid days because the use of AC increases. Due to this, 300 units are completed in a few days and many people start stealing, which causes loss to the department.
To stop this loss, a special checking campaign was launched by the department today. 1242 electricity connections were checked by the five divisions of Jalandhar Circle, in which 33 consumers who were involved in electricity theft and misuse of electricity were fined Rs 8.53 lakh. In these, a fine of Rs 6.95 lakh was imposed in 13 cases of direct theft.
At the same time, 20 cases have been caught related to damaging the system by using more load than the approved load and using domestic electricity for commercial purposes. Officials say that transformers etc. get damaged due to consumers using more load. At the same time, many consumers were using domestic electricity for commercial purposes, which is against the rules. According to officials, it is necessary to install separate meters for shops built in houses, but people run shops using electricity from their homes, which is wrong.
On the directions of Deputy Chief Engineer and Circle Head Gulshan Chutani, special checking was ordered by forming teams under the chairmanship of Executives of all five divisions of the circle. Checking was carried out by a total of 18 teams at the same time, including 3 to 4 teams from each division. Model Town division imposed the highest fine of 3.57 lakhs.
Under the chairmanship of Executive Jaspal Singh Pal of Model Town, 343 connections were checked, out of which 8 cases of direct theft were fined 3.02 lakhs, while other consumers were fined 55 thousand. Meters are being removed and sent to the lab. Engineer. Pal told that a total of 4 teams carried out this action.
On the other hand, East Division, under the leadership of Executive Jaspal Singh, has imposed a fine of Rs. 2.50 lakh on checking of 310 connections. According to Executive Avtar Singh of Cantt Division, 187 connections were checked. In this, a total of 15 connections were caught for overloading and electricity theft, and a fine of Rs. 1.41 lakh has been imposed on them. Similarly, Executive Hardeep Kumar of Phagwara Division has imposed a fine of Rs. 85 thousand on 4 connections while checking 128 connections. Under the leadership of Executive Sunny Bhagda of West Division, a fine of Rs. 20 thousand has been imposed on checking of 274 connections.
Special attention on theft in humid weather: Engr. Chutani
Deputy Chief Engineer Gulshan Chutani said that all the executives have been instructed to pay special attention to electricity theft in this humid season, because during these days, AC is used more, which increases theft.
