New Delhi, March 27, 2006

Press Release

BSES nabs contractors stealing 6500 KW – electricity enough to power six Five Star hotels; Penalties around Rs 9  crore to be imposed

• Power theft equivalent to – electricity consumed by six five star hotels or two large Ansal plaza like malls or electricity consumed by 80 percent of Vasant Kunj – detected
• East Delhi raids : 3500 KW of “single location-single day” power theft detected
• West Delhi raids: 2800 KW of power theft detected
• Large scale power theft responsible for unscheduled power cuts
• Contractors license cancelled

As part of its relentless crackdown on power theft, BSES has been carrying out simultaneous raids across its licensed area. In raids conducted over the weekend, BYPL and BRPL Enforcement Teams detected power theft of a whopping 6500 KW worth around Rs 9 crore in penalties.

Complementing the Enforcement Teams for detecting power theft on such a large scale, the new BSES CEO, Mr. Lalit Jalan, said: “The countdown for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi has begun. At BSES we have decided to initiate with even more determination our drive to eliminate the menace of power theft.” He appealed to all BSES consumers to help BSES get Delhi rid of its image of being the world’s power theft capital.

Explaining the significance of these recent raids, Mr Jalan explained that the two contractors were stealing power equivalent to the electricity needs of six five star hotels or two large Ansal Plaza like malls or 80 percent of the total electricity supplied to Vasant Kunj. The BSES spokesperson said that power theft by these contractors was directly responsible for unscheduled power outages in the Laxmi Nagar, Uttam Nagar, Janakpuri, Palam and adjoining areas.

(A) East Delhi Raids – In a “Single day-single location” raid, power theft of 3500 KW detected, Penalties worth around Rs 7 crore to be slapped.

BSES Enforcement teams raided two SPD contractors in the Laxmi Nagar area and caught them stealing power to the tune of 3600 KW. “According to the provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, a cumulative penalty of Rs 7 crore is likely to be imposed on the accused”, said a BSES official.

The two SPD contractors – Mohd Abid (KNo 123030040374) and Tapan Sarkar (K No 123093009002) – supplied electricity to over 5000 houses, settlements and factories in the Laxmi Nagar area of East Delhi.

While, the SPD contractors had a sanctioned load of around 400 KW each, SPD contractor Mohd Abid was found having a connected load of over 2600 KW and his meter was also found tampered, the other SPD contractor - Tapan Sarkar was found having a connected load of over 1000 KW by directly hooking from the nearby BSES LV mains.

The Enforcement Team also found a plastic factory using over 150 KW of stolen electricity to carry out its business. The factory was being supplied electricity from the SPD contractor. This is the second time; the plastic factory has been booked for power theft.

(B) West Delhi Raids – Joint Delhi Police–BSES raids detect power theft of over 2800 MW; Penalties worth 2.25 crore to be imposed.

In raids carried out in West Delhi, BSES Enforcement Teams along with Delhi Police personnel swooped down on M/s Priya Electricals, a SPD contractor, who had been under surveillance for nearly a month.  The SPD contractor, who had been contracted to supply electricity to over 1000 houses and shops in Mohan Garden area of Uttam Nagar was, caught red-handed; tampering the CTPT Distribution Box (Distribution Transformer) and stealing electricity to the tune of 1900 KW. “A penalty of over Rs 1.5 crore is likely to be slapped”, said a BSES official.

Narrating the sequence of events, a BSES official said “According to a well crafted plan, two BSES Enforcement Teams raided the venue – one team started filming and documenting the evidence, the other along with personnel from the Delhi Police waited in the sidelines for any contingency.

The sight of the enforcement teams, recording evidence unnerved the “power thieves”, who went on the offensive and snatched the video camera. At that moment, members of the second Enforcement Team along with the waiting policemen stepped in to take stock of the situation and catch the power thieves. The “power thieves, realizing they had been cornered and outnumbered fled the scene, but leaving their scooter (DL 4SZ 7769) behind.”

In another raid, SPD contractor M/s Usha Electricals, who was contracted to supply electricity to about 350 houses in Palam, was caught stealing electricity to the tune of over 900 KW by way of meter tampering – again by way of tampering the CTPT distribution box. A penalty of Rs 75 lakh is likely to be imposed on him.

According to a BSES spokesperson “Besides cumulative penalties of Rs 9 crore, termination proceedings are being initiated against these SPD contractors”.

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