Nahan: Power board ex-employee fined Rs 13.4L

Pankaj Sharma

Nahan, June 27

A retired employee of the state electricity board has been slapped with a Rs 13.4 lakh fine for installing a fake electricity meter at his house.

During a routine inspection by a team led by Ankur Sharma, Assistant Engineer, electricity board, Paonta Sahib, it was found that the load on the meter installed at the retired employee’s house exceeded the sanctioned limit. While the sanctioned load was 2.24 KW, the actual connected load was found to be 27.52 KW.

The board fined the consumer Rs 3.55 lakh under Section 126 of the Indian Electricity Act. Further, it was found that another unauthorised meter was installed at the house, the team slapped additional penalty of Rs 9.85 lakh on the former employee. It was also found that due to the excessive load, the local transformer had been frequently malfunctioning, causing repeated power outages in the Badripur area of Paonta Sahib.

In view of the violations, the electricity connection of the retired employee was disconnected. The Electricity Board has also lodged a complaint with the police for further action. A senior police official said the police had received the complaint and a probe was underway.

The retired employee approached the Himachal Pradesh High Court, but his petition was dismissed. He now has the option to appeal to the Assistant Engineer or higher authorities of the Electricity Board under the provisions of the Act.

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