Power pilferage rampant on turf of powerful Akalis
CURRENT DEFICIT Punjab loses an estimated `880 crore in 2 years due to theft POWER POINT
PATIALA: Punjab lost an estimated `880 crore in two years due to electricity theft in areas under ruling Shiromani Akali Dal legislators with the constituencies of the Badal family reporting the biggest losses, a confidential document of the state power agency shows.
Sources said officials did not act to stem the power theft as they were wary of conducting checks in areas ruled by influential politicians of the SAD, which is in power in the state in alliance with the BJP. Enforcement team were assaulted and locked up in Majitha and Bhikhiwind but no FIR was registered, officials told HT.
HT has seen the internal document prepared by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on its “distribution losses” which is the difference between the amount of energy delivered to the distribution system from the transmission system and the amount of energy customers are billed.
The revelation could provide fodder to the SAD’s political rivals, especially the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress, in the run up to the assembly polls due early next year.
The “losses” would also come Division Lambi
Suburban Amritsar
Patti Bhikhiwind
Rampura Phul
Jalalabad Badal (in %) as an embarrassment to the BJP as its government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on radical power sector reforms with an aim of lighting every home in the country by 2019. Tracking rural power usage is part of the reforms sought by the Modi government.
The document, officially called the management information report (MIR), shows that chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s constituency, Lambi, suffered around 32% distribution loss, much higher than the state average of 12.71% in 2015-16. The corporation 2014-15 2015-16 32
31.61
35.42 35.22 37.08 29.17 30.14 28.97 31.06 28.94 42.29 42.29
38.13 32.29
has a Badal division which supplies uninterrupted power to Lambi.
In Jalalabad, deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s constituency, PSPCL reported 31% distribution losses in 201415, which came down marginally to 28.94% in 2015-16.
“The distribution losses clearly show that power is being pilfered in powerful Akalirepresented areas. It’s not technical loss as management always uses best distribution lines and system in areas of chief minister and deputy chief minister,” said Padamjit Singh, a retired chief engineer. -- PADAMJIT SINGH, RETIRED CHIEF ENGINEER
According to officials, the primary reason for distribution losses is pilferage followed by defective meters and errors in meter-reading. .
The document showed that the losses are maximum, between 30% to 40%, in divisions where powerful Akalis are ministers.
“The PSPCL top brass is aware of theft in these segments... However, our officers are helpless,” a corporation official said, pleading anonymity.
PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director KD Chaudhry said: “I will be in a better position to comment after going through the report.”