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185 cases of power theft detected in Haryana

CHANDIGARH: Intensifying its ongoing campaign to check pilferage of power, unauthorised use of electricity and unauthorised extension of load, the Vigilance and Enforcement wing of Haryana Power Utilities detected 185 cases of theft of electricity and imposed penalty of over Rs.2 crore on the erring consumers this past month.

An official spokesman said here on Wednesday that penalties of over Rs.4 lakh to 12 lakh had been levied in eight of these cases which included industrial and non-domestic connections. In all, the amount of penalty exceeded Rs.50,000 in 85 cases of theft of energy. The electricity supply of the erring consumers had been disconnected immediately, he added.

First Information Reports were lodged with the police against 14 consumers found involved in stealing power.

The spokesman disclosed that consumers were stealing power by directly tapping the supply line, using magnets for stopping the energy recording meters, tampering the meter seals and using other unauthorised means.

The maximum cases of theft of power, unauthorised extension of load and unauthorised use of electricity were detected in Gurgaon, Hisar, Faridabad, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani, Ambala and Karnal.

The spokesman stated the Utilities would now issue notice of compounding to the erring consumer in power theft cases within 24 hours instead of two working days.

It has been decided that no compounding would be allowed in cases where detection of theft will be for the second time. In these cases, an FIR will be lodged.

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185 cases of power theft detected in Haryana

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