New Delhi, January 16, 2006

Press Release

Affluent customers not averse to tampering, finds BSES Enforcement team.

• Indigenous means deployed to steal electricity by many in posh Neelkanth Apartments at I P Extension

Unauthorised colonies, JJ clusters, farm houses, shop-keepers & traders, illegal factory owners and now even the well-educated and high-heeled affluent class who reside in posh colonies are also indulging in power theft.

BSES enforcement teams, in their drive to ensure that honest customers do not pay for the sin of the dishonest, have recently stumbled upon innumerable cases of power theft by none else but the affluent class who not only break the seals of their electronic meters but install foreign elements to slow them between 65 to 93 %.

In the on-going anti-power theft drive, the BSES Enforcement team on 14 January 2006 detected many residents of the posh Neelkanth Apartments in IndraPrastha Extension deploying new and indigenous means to slow down electronic meters. “We found that all the 17 Electronic Meters we checked had broken seals and had been slowed in between of 65% to 93%,” said a BSES official. 

The total load being used by these 17 flats totalled well over 200 KW. Interestingly all the 17 houses had a sanctioned load between 6 and 8KW while their consumption was exactly double of their sanctioned load. The load of over 200 KW attracts a total fine of over Rs 55 lakhs. All the tampered meters have been replaced. Owners of the respective flats have been served a Dishonest Abstraction of Energy (DAE) notice by the company.

According to a BSES spokesperson “What is interesting to note is that there was no one method used to tamper the meters. The raiding party found a plethora of cleverly designed methods being used to steal electricity” The spokesperson added “all the flats raided had more than one air conditioner installed.” Every flat raided will be fined approximately between Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh each depending on their load.

Mr Lalit Jalan, Member of the Executive Committee and Director, BSES, while complimenting the Enforcement Team said “these raids are the outcome of sophisticated and state-of-the-art monitoring devices deployed by BSES to study consumers’ consumption patterns. Deviations and Aberrations at the consumers end are immediately flagged and helps BSES to take appropriate action against the culprits.” He urged the consumers to pay for what they consume and not cheat the company which is determined to provide quality power at a competitive price.

According to a BSES spokesperson, “The coming days will see more such raids being conducted in the residential areas. BSES has identified consumers, who are indulging in power theft and appropriate action will be taken again them”

For further information please contact: