Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has detected a total of 175 connections from where the customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur and Okara) on the 63rd day of a grand anti-power theft campaign. The LESCO spokesman told media here Friday that the company has also submitted FIR applications against 173 electricity thieves, out of which 110 FIRs have been registered in respective police stations, while 13 accused have been arrested.
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 63rd consecutive day (Nov. 10) 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, six were commercial, two agricultural, 167 industrial and 246 domestic, and all these connections were disconnected and charged with a total of 343,973 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 10.416 million. Apprising the media about some major power pilferers, he explained that LESCO charged Rs 200,000 detection bill against 4,660 units to an electricity pilferer in an area of Baghbanpura; Rs 200,000 fine in the form of detection bill against 4,550 units to a customer stealing electricity in Shalimar Town area; Rs 150,000 detection bill against 3,852 units to another power thief in Hanjarwal area Multan Road Lahore; and Rs 150,000 detection bill to a power thief also in Hanjarwal. During the 63 days of grand anti-theft campaign, the spokesman mentioned, the LESCO detected pilferage on 24,693 power connections and submitted 24,447 FIR applications against electricity thieves in the relevant police stations out of which 23,669 FIRs have been registered, while 12,242 accused have so far been arrested by the police.
