Despite 300 units of free electricity, Punjab reports Rs 2,600 crore theft
Power theft in Punjab has assumed alarming proportions, despite domestic consumers getting free electricity. The losses touched a whopping Rs 2,600 crore in 2023-24.
In lieu of 300 units of free power, the state government gives a subsidy of over Rs 6,000 crore, and Rs 1,400 crore was given against Rs 2.50 rebate to domestic consumers — up to 7kW load.
There are 20 notorious theft-prone divisions of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), which account for half of the Rs 2,600 crore revenue loss. The maximum power theft occurs in the border zone, followed by west and south zones of PSPCL.
Tarn Taran circle, with four divisions; and Ferozepur circle, Suburban Amritsar and Sangrur circle, with three divisions each, are among the major theft-prone areas.
As far as revenue loss is concerned, Bhikhiwind, Patti and Zira divisions have crossed Rs 110 crore each, followed by West Amritsar with Rs 92 crore. The total loss from these four divisions accounts for Rs 435 crore.
Six rural divisions have recorded distribution losses of over 50%. The top four divisions with under-billing are Bhikhiwind (73.32%), Patti (65.02%), Zira (64.9%) and West Amritsar (62.96%).
In the top 20 theft-prone divisions, the losses in rural areas are around Rs 900 crore. It is no better in urban areas of Patti, Ajnala, Bhagta Bhai and West Amritsar that have reported Rs 400 crore loss. There are 14 divisions where the annual revenue loss is between Rs 56 crore and Rs 113 crore.
VK Gupta, a retired engineer, said the main reason for losses under these divisions was rampant theft in politically sensitive areas. Most of these divisions fell in the border belt, which was the epicentre of theft, he claimed.
In August, the government registered 296 FIRs pertaining to power theft at stations across the state.
It has emphasised the need to ramp up efforts against power theft, which, according to Gupta, was a major threat to the financial stability and operational efficiency of PSPCL.
