Power cos crack down on thieves at 23k sites, raids unearth pilfering in crores

Cracking the whip on power thieves, power utility firms across the state have stepped up vigilance post-lockdowns and raided over 23,000 locations, said sources from power firms. This has resulted in reduction of distribution losses, thereby ensuring no tariff burden on consumers who pay bills regularly.

- Somit Sen

Mumbai: In case of MSEDCL, it conducted hundreds of raids and registered over 2,600 cases in the past seven months while there were over 13,000 cases filed earlier in 2021-22. It unearthed power thefts worth Rs 318 crore, wherein 557 million units of electricity were pilfered over the past one and half years, an official said. In one of the bigger cases, 13 bungalow owners in Kalyan zone were caught for power theft of Rs 78 lakh this week.