Daily Times

The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has detected a total of 57,401 connections from where the customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur and Okara) on the 166th day of grand anti-power theft campaign.

The LESCO spokesman told media here Sunday that the company has also submitted FIR applications against electricity thieves, out of which 52,957 FIRs have been registered in respective police stations, while 17,627 accused have been arrested. The LESCO has so far charged a total of 76,301,843 detection units worth Rs 2,933,049,663 to all the power pilferers.

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.

The spokesman added, the LESCO found 401 customers stealing electricity through various means and 154 cases have been registered against the accused during the last 24 hours.

On the 166th consecutive day of the anti-power theft campaign, he mentioned that large commercial consumers were found involved in electricity theft and all of them were also disconnected and charged with detection units. Among the seized connections, he explained, 06 were commercial, 03 agricultural, 01 industrial and 391 domestic, and all these connections were disconnected and charged with a total of 292,976 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 9.629 million.

Apprising the media about some major power pilferers, he mentioned that LESCO charged Rs 202,000 detection bill to an electricity pilferer in Batapur area; Rs 200,000 detection bills each to two power pilferers in Township area, and Rs 140,000 fine in the form of detection bill to a customer stealing electricity in Garhi Shahu.