BSES Bhawan, Nehru Place, New Delhi – 110019. Phone - 39999999
New Delhi 5 May, 2005:
BSES Enforcement team stops theft of 68000 KW of electricity, books 15000 cases
In a determined bid to check the rampant theft of power in the capital, BSES has registered over 15,000 cases of Dishonest Abstraction of Electricity (DAE) during 2004-2005, accounting for over 68,000 kilowatts (KW) of stolen power.
Of these cases, involving both domestic as well as commercial consumers, nearly 10,000 were booked in the BSES Rajdhani area, while the remaining came from BSES Yamuna area. The power utility has also recovered a sum of Rs 46 crore as penalty from errant consumers.
This dramatic success has been made possible partly by the stringent provisions contained in the Electricity Act, 2003 -- which make it easier for the power utility to book individual and organizations engaged in the theft of power – and partly by the extensive inspection drive launched by 33 specially-constituted BSES enforcement teams, one for each of the 33 divisions in the capital.
What has also helped is the setting up a Special Court for the trial of theft-related cases under the terms of Electricity Act, 2003. The Special Court, which began work in March 2004, has already issued summons/warrants in 15 cases, leading to the arrest of four persons. More action is expected as there are as many as 100 cases, involving a sum of Rs 17 crore, still pending with the Special Court.
Meanwhile, BSES has once again appealed to consumers for cooperation in the tracking and prevention of power theft in the capital. According to a BSES spokesperson, “A vast majority of our 23 lakh consumers are honest and law-abiding. We urge them to come forward and report cases of theft and t ampered meters. Everyone must realise that those who don’t pay for electricity they use are doing so at the expense of other honest consumers”.
These cases can be reported to the concerned Business Managers at any of the 33 BSES divisional offices. Complaints of power theft can also be lodged at the BSES helpline 39999733 or 39999777.
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For further information please contact:
Corporate Communications
BSES Bhavan, Nehru Place
Phone: 39999521