The Hindu : New Delhi News : BSES trains its guns on RWAs

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Saturday, Nov 24, 2007
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New Delhi

BSES trains its guns on RWAs

Smriti Kak Ramachandran

Asks them to take legal connections for lighting up entry/exit point signboards

Such boards have 10-15 tube-lights, consuming 0.4 kW to 0.6 kW power
A Dwarka RWA was slapped with a penalty of 87,456 for power theft

NEW DELHI: Power distribution company BSES has trained its guns on the Capital’s residents’ welfare associations drawing power illegally for illuminating signboards and billboards in residential areas.

The company has shot off a letter to all RWAs asking them to ensure that legal connections are taken by them for illuminating the entry/exit point signboards. After cracking down on commercial and residential premises drawing power illegally, the discom is now zeroing in on signboards and billboards as one of the major areas of pilferage.

“Power theft is omnipresent and cuts across social segmentations and areas. In the past, apartment blocks, hospitals, marriage and religious pandals, Ramlilas, music concerts and even DTC bus shelters have been caught stealing power,” a discom sources said.

“Another kind of power theft the magnitude of which might run into hundreds of kWs is the signboards in residential colonies, at times even without the knowledge of those responsible for it,” sources pointed out.

The discom claims that since these illuminations are on the property of these RWAs, it is their responsibility to take legal connections, failing which they are liable to face disconnection and penalty for electricity theft.

“A typical illuminated entry/exit board has around 10-15 tube-lights, consuming anywhere between 0.4 kW to 0.6 kW. And lit for around 10 hours in one day, these illuminated boards should have a monthly electricity bill between Rs.700 to Rs.1,000,” sources said.

The discom recently slapped an RWA of DDA flats in Dwarka with a penalty of Rs.87,456 for stealing electricity. The RWA had not taken a legal connection for a similar illumination and was using nearly 1.89 kW of un-metered energy.

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