ISRAEL, LAHORE, and KARACHI:
Several people guilty of stealing electricity at the residential, commercial, and agricultural levels were arrested on Monday as part of an ongoing statewide operation to crack down on power theft.
According to the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco), 25 people have been arrested after a FIR was filed against 194 customers who were found stealing electricity.
Additionally, the corporation cut off all unlawful connections and billed the criminals a total of Rs24.168 million for 528,700 units once they were able to detect their activities.
Engineer Shahid Haider, CEO of Lesco, has stated his firm intent to eliminate power theft and promised that the company’s ongoing operation would proceed without letup.
He warned that any Lesco employee or officer caught stealing electricity will be fired.
The Power Division reported that 8,000,000 units of electricity had been stolen, resulting in 194 arrests and fines totaling Rs35.2 million.
In terms of efficiency and reliability, power distribution companies (Discos) Lesco and Multan Electric Power Company (Mepco) have been singled out for praise.
A total of 1,159 incidents of electricity theft were reported to Lesco, while 1,317 incidents were recorded to Mepco.
A province-wide initiative against electricity theft and non-payment of bills has been announced by the Task Force for Prevention of Electricity Pilferage in Sindh.
To combat energy theft and non-payment of bills, the task group led by Sindh’s Additional Chief Secretary Home Muhammad Iqbal Memon has authorised indiscriminate legal action.
To accomplish its mission, the task force will reach out to the district administration, the police, and any other relevant agencies for help.
Meanwhile, the Energy Ministry’s Power Division has ordered Qesco, the Quetta area’s electricity provider, to crack down on power theft and non-payment. According to Qesco, 387 occurrences of electricity theft across the province had been recorded, and petitions to register them with the police had been made.
Thirty-seven people had been taken into custody, and their phones and computers were taken away from them.
Several home connections and commercial plaza metres had also been checked, and some had been cut off.
Defaulters were also subject to action in the regions of Khuzdar, Sibi, Makran, Pishin, and Loralai, leading to the disconnection of 288 connections and the recovery of more than Rs100 million.
After being taken captive by more than 300 people in Basti Parhar, Rajanpur district, a Mepco raiding team in Multan found themselves in a perilous scenario.
The crew narrowly avoided certain death despite the presence of law enforcement officers.
Mepco’s follow-up operations uncovered multiple instances of electricity theft, resulting in the arrest of 70 people.
In one case, the manager of a former member of the National Assembly had a loop system installed in his or her metre.
During the investigation, it was discovered that MPA candidate Chaudhry Maqsood Akhtar’s brother had been stealing energy from the home. In accordance with the prime minister’s orders, legal action had been taken against the perpetrators.
Further, on September 10, 229 customers in South Punjab were reported to have stolen electricity.
In response to the theft of 352,000 units, a fine of Rs14.7 million was levied.
Thirty-three people were charged in a total of thirteen districts in South Punjab.
