418 power pilferers detected

LAHORE : The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has detected a total of 418 connections from where the customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts — Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur and Okara — on the 158th day of anti-power theft campaign.

The Lesco spokesman told the media here Saturday that the company had also submitted FIR applications against electricity thieves, out of which 155 FIRs have been registered in respective police stations. Grand anti-power theft operations against electricity thieves are being conducted on the directives of the Federal Power Division and the Lesco Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Shahid Haider is supervising these operations. The Lesco chief vowed that the operations would continue without discrimination until the complete end of electricity theft.

The electricity pilferers as well as the Lesco officers and employees who facilitate them are also being brought to justice. On the 158th consecutive day of the anti-power theft campaign, the spokesman added, large commercial consumers were also found involved in electricity theft and all of them were also disconnected and charged with detection units. Among the seized connections 08 were commercial, 02 agricultural, 01 industrial and 407 domestic, and all these connections were disconnected and charged with a total of 305,202 units as detection bill amounting to Rs11.434 million.

Apprising the media about some major power pilferers, he explained that Lesco charged Rs825,455 detection bill to an electricity pilferer in Manawan area; Rs223,000 detection bills to another power pilferer in Mandi Usman Wala area, Rs200,000 fine in the form of detection bills to customer stealing electricity in area of Green Town; and Rs150,000 detection bill to a power thieve in Garhi Shahu.

During the 158 days of grand anti-theft campaign, the spokesman mentioned, the Lesco detected pilferage on 54,511 power connections and 50,282 FIRs have been registered against electricity thieves in the relevant police stations, while 17,577 accused have so far been arrested by the police.

The Lesco has so far charged a total of 74,056,288 detection units worth Rs2,842,969,047 to all the power pilferers.