KPDCL to name and shame consumers involved in power thefts

Srinagar, Nov 25: In a robust move against power theft, the Kashmir Power Development Corporation (KPDCL) has intensified efforts to curb losses, resorting to naming and shaming individuals involved in illegal electricity consumption.

A senior KPDCL official acknowledged persistent power cuts but emphasised that despite supplying over 1400 MW against agreed load agreements of 1000 MW, there is still a deficit.

“The rampant power pilferage in non-metered areas and those under a flat rate system has prompted the corporation to adopt a deterrence strategy by publicly identifying culprits,” he said.

The official said: “The areas without meters consume 10 times more power than the revenue generated, leading to a considerable challenge. The corporation aims to discourage theft and ensure consistent power supply through this naming and shaming approach.”

In a recent tweet, KPDCL announced, “Consumers hooking, bypassing meters and exceeding agreed load will be named! Night inspections by KPDCL teams, breaching the 1000 mark daily.”

The power discom's initiative comes as Kashmir grapples with severe outages, causing financial losses and mental distress to consumers.

To provide relief to genuine consumers, Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) has escalated night patrolling and inspections, aiming to crack down on hooking, load violations, and meter bypass.

In the past four days, KPDCL collected an impressive revenue of Rs 29.89 crore from consumers.

This includes Rs 9.18 crore in pending arrear dues collected on Friday alone, showcasing the impact of their intensified efforts.

The corporation conducted 1153 inspections across various circles, imposing a penalty of Rs 7.81 lakh on unauthorised power users.

Additionally, 1117 connections were disconnected due to non-payment of energy dues, consisting of 886 domestic, 212 commercial, and 17 industrial consumers.

Despite these measures, concerns arise over damaged Domestic Transformers (DTs), with 62 reported on Friday due to overloading.

The KPDCL repaired and replaced 61 transformers on the same day, struggling to meet government-set timelines amidst a steady influx of damaged DTs.

1117 CONSUMERS DISCONNECTED; RS 29.89 CR REVENUE REALISED IN 4 DAYS

Meanwhile, to provide relief to genuine consumers, KPDCL has escalated its night patrolling and inspection drives to tighten noose against erring consumers who indulge in widespread hooking, violation of agreed load, and bypassing of the meters.

A statement of the KPDCL issued here said that it also collected revenue of Rs 29.89 crore from consumers over the last 4 days amidst scaled-up drives to check energy pilferage that primarily results in outages and damage to transformers, bringing hardships upon genuine consumers.

It said that revenue of Rs 9.18 crore as pending arrears dues were collected on Friday alone by the corporation.

Giving details, a KPDCL spokesman said that out of 1153 inspections carried out in the Kashmir division, 98 were conducted in Circle I Srinagar, 233 in Circle II Srinagar, 367 in Circle Ganderbal, 140 in Circle Pulwama, 142 in Circle Bijbehara, and 154 in Circle Sopore.

Around 228 KW load was added across the 6 Circles of the corporation during these drives.

A penalty of Rs 7.81 lakh was also imposed on those who were unauthorisedly using power in terms of Section 126 of the Electricity Act.

The spokesman said that another 1117 domestic, commercial, and industrial connections were disconnected for non-payment of energy dues which were pending for more than three months.

This includes 886 domestic, 212 commercial, and 17 industrial consumers.

Meanwhile, 62 Domestic Transformers (DTs) were also reported damaged on Friday due to overloading, up from 52 reported on Thursday.

The KPDCL also repaired and replaced 61 transformers on Friday to comply with the directions issued for the replacement of the damaged DTs.

The spokesman expressed concern over the steady procession of damaged DTs at Central Workshop Pampore and the divisional workshops of KPDCL, putting strain on meeting the timelines fixed by the government.

In an attempt to collect pending energy dues, KPDCL realised revenue of Rs 29.89 crore from the consumers, including Rs 9.18 crore on Friday.

The corporation requested its consumers to pay their pending bills or the corporation would be left with no option but to disconnect their power supply.