38 power theft cases detected in Latur

Aurangabad: The newly-installed electric meters, comprising radio frequency (RF) and infra-red (IR), have helped the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) in detecting as many as 38 power theft cases without deploying any manpower on the field in Latur.

Dhananjay Pawar, MSEDCL public relations officer for Nanded zone, said these special high-tech meters are installed in areas that are prone to the power theft.

“The newly-installed meters and overall system have special data concentrator unit technology among other features that provides real-time update about power consumption of every consumer after an interval of 15 minutes. Thus, the advanced devices help the central server to immediately detect any significant deviation in power consumption and thus detect any attempt of power theft,” he said.

Power thefts amounting to Rs2.37 lakh were reported in Latur during April and May and necessary criminal proceedings have been initiated against offenders.

Among other benefits of the newly-installed meters, these devices help the state power utility in generating accurate monthly bills. “The meters and its server operate with minimal human interface which makes the entire system impeccable and accountable. The new devices are best considering the interest of consumers as well as that of the MSEDCL,” Patil said.

Nanded, Latur and Jalgaon are among MSEDCL zones that are notorious for power thefts and the state power utility has set a target of installing over 8.5 lakh new electric meters having the RF and IR technology here.

Among different cities, Latur has a target of installation of such 88,338 meters of which 62,265 have been put into place by replacing the old devices.

Aurangabad division of MSEDCL, comprising Aurangabad, Latur, Nanded and Jalgaon zones, had caught as many as 19,844 cases of power thefts during the last fiscal, recovering fine worth Rs6.02 crore. Aurangabad zone reported the maximum 9,668 cases of power theft followed by Jalgaon (5,044), Latur (3,512) and Nanded (1,620).

As per section 126 of the Electricity Act, 2003, in case of detection of ‘Unauthorized Use of Energy (UUE), the tariff equal to twice the tariff applicable for the relevant category is recovered if the MSEDCL authorities reach to the conclusion that unauthorised use of electricity has taken place. Also, section 135 of the Act stipulates for initiating police action among other stern actions.