LAHORE (APP)- The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) reported that a total of 261 instances of power pilferage were discovered on the 57th day of its comprehensive anti-power theft campaign. These cases were found across all of LESCO’s circles, which cover five districts including Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur, and Okara.
A spokesman for LESCO disclosed that the company had also submitted First Information Reports (FIR) against 260 individuals involved in electricity theft. Of these, 173 FIRs have been officially registered in the respective police stations, and 17 individuals accused of power theft have been apprehended.
These anti-power theft operations are being carried out as per the directives of the Federal Power Division, and they are being supervised by LESCO’s Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Shahid Haider. He has reiterated the commitment to continue these operations without any discrimination until the menace of electricity theft is completely eradicated. This includes not only the electricity pilferers but also LESCO officers and employees who facilitate such activities.
On the 57th day of the campaign, it was noted that several large commercial consumers were also involved in electricity theft, and their connections were disconnected and billed for the units consumed illicitly. Among the seized connections, 6 were commercial, 1 was industrial, and 254 were domestic. These connections were disconnected, and a total of 324,326 units were charged with detection bills, amounting to Rs 13.266 million.
For instance, LESCO billed Rs 250,000 in detection charges for 4,900 pilfered units in Fazal Colony, Rs 200,000 in detection charges for 4,000 stolen units in Sadiq Colony, Rs 200,000 in detection charges for 5,895 units in Ram Gali areas, and Rs 158,046 in detection charges for 2,190 pilfered units in Mustafa Abad.
During the 56 days of the grand anti-theft campaign, LESCO detected power theft in 23,469 instances and submitted 23,229 FIR applications against electricity thieves. Of these, 22,416 FIRs have been registered, and 11,826 individuals accused of power theft have been apprehended by the police. LESCO has billed a total of 44,457,345 detection units, amounting to Rs 1,907,232,291, to all the power pilferers.