Shillong, June 25: Electricity theft may not be carried out on a large scale, but the Power department carries out regular monitoring of the illegal practice, since “it hurts the honest consumers”.
Speaking on the issue on Thursday, Commissioner & Secretary in-charge Power, Sanjay Goyal, said the department’s investigation wing operates statewide, not just in select pockets of Garo Hills.
Clarifying that the theft is not rampant, he said, “Genuine consumers face problems because of these kinds of illegal practices by a very few of them.”
He mentioned that persons found guilty of power theft can be penalised under the Electricity Act.
“It brings loss to the corporation and side by side it brings more financial burden to the genuine consumers,” he said.
Goyal added that offenders are being tracked and billed for losses.
Probe into power issues
The state Power department has set up a committee under the Chief Engineer, West Zone to examine issues flagged by SAI Computer Ltd, which drew flak for inflated electricity bills in areas where it was entrusted to manage the power distribution.
“We have set up a committee under the chairman of the chief engineer of the West Zone, let us await for the report,” Goyal said.
He added that initial inputs from the Chief Engineer pointed to local factors, including power supply.
Goyal assured that consumer problems would be addressed based on the committee’s assessment.
