New Delhi, November 27, 2006

Press Release

Third Special Court to adjudicate power theft cases inaugurated at Malviya Nagar

Will help curb alarming electricity theft menace in the National Capital

• Third Special Court – dedicated for power theft cases (and Second for BRPL area) inaugurated at Malviya Nagar
• Other two Special Courts were inaugurated earlier in Patparganj (For BYPL) and Vikaspuri (For BRPL)
• Since inception, BYPL and BRPL have filed over 1600and 1050 cases in Special Courts
• One percent reduction in AT & C losses helps in saving around Rs 85 crore

Power thieves beware! The long arm of the law has been further strengthened with the setting up of the third Special Court at Malviya Nagar.

The third of the Special Courts (and second for BRPL area) was inaugurated on November 25, 2006 at Malviya Nagar by Hon’ble Mr Justice Vijender Jain, Acting Chief Justice, Delhi High Court. Those present on the occasion included Hon’ble Dr Justice M K Sharma, Mr Justice V B Gupta, District Judge, Mr Rakesh Tiwari, Mr S C Rajan, Special Court Judges, senior government and BSES officials.

A total of three Special Courts – two for BRPL and one for BYPL – dedicated for trying power theft cases are all set to give the required impetus to BSES’ enforcement activities. The two other Courts – one each for BRPL and BYPL were earlier inaugurated in September at Vikaspuri and Patparganj respectively.

According to Shri Lalit Jalan, CEO BRPL “Setting up of these Special Courts will act a major deterrent to people who steal power. It is our constant endevour to educate the public on the evil of indulging in power theft. We have been aggressively informing and educating our customers through Synergy (BSES’ bi-lingual and bi-monthly newsletter that accompanies the bills), newspaper inserts, pamphlets and posters about the menace and penalties of power theft”

It is pertinent to note that one percent reduction in AT&C losses, leads to a saving of around Rs 85 crore. Since July 2002, BRPL and BYPL have reduced AT & C losses by almost 16.4% and 20% respectively.

The initial five Special Courts were not exclusively for power theft cases. They took up cases other than those related to power theft and they heard power theft cases only on few days in a week. But these new Special Courts would only deal with power theft cases on all working days and thereby ensure their quick resolution.”

According to a BSES spokesperson “Setting up of Special Courts – exclusively for trying power theft cases is an important landmark in the process of power privitisation in Delhi. Inauguration of the Special Court at Malviya Nagar completes the process of setting up exclusive and dedicated Courts for handling power theft cases in BSES’ distribution area. Since January 2005, when the non-exclusive Special Courts (BRPL-2 and BYPL-1) came into existence, BYPL and BRPL have filed over 1600 and 1050 cases in Special Courts respectively.

BSES, Delhi’s premier power distribution company, is committed to ensuring quality and reliable electricity supply to all its consumers.

For further information please contact:

Prashant Dua	Chandra P Kamat
Corporate Communications	Corporate Communications
39999870 / 9312007822	39999088 / 9350130304