DHBVN acts against power pilferage in Haryana

Chandigarh, Feb 2 (UNI) The Dakhshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has decided to stop improvement works in areas known for power pilferage and non-payment of power bills.

''This step has been taken to save the Nigam from high losses caused by unscrupulous consumers in some areas and to ensure qualitative power supply in areas where there are sincere consumers,'' a DHBVN spokesman said.

He said theft of electricity, non-payment of bills, higher line losses and other unscrupulous activities by the people marred the quality of power supply and caused commercial loss to the power utility.

The DHBVN, he said, had decided not to start the new improvement works in the areas where aggregate transmission and commercial losses were more than 90 per cent in urban area and 85 per cent in rural area, or where collection of revenue was less than 95 per cent in urban area and 90 per cent in rural area or where line losses were more than 30 per cent.

The DHBVN would ask Gram Panchayats to educate the residents of their villages not to indulge in theft of electricity, to make payment of electricity bills in time and to get regular power connection in place of illegal connections.

The development works of those villages would be considered by DHBVN whose Panchayats entered into memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nigam with regard to improvement of commercial parameters.

The spokesman said that inspite of all out efforts made by the DHBVN, the power losses in some areas were very high mainly due to theft of electricity by tampering of meters, non regularisation of 'Kundi' connections and non payment of bills in time.

UNI