Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (MSEDCL) uncovered 23 cases of power theft in a North Nagpur locality. To address the issue and reduce losses, the state-run company focused on areas with high electricity consumption but low bill payments. The situation pointed to widespread power theft, leading MSEDCL to form flying squads. On Monday, these teams targeted the Lashkaribagh area in North Nagpur to take action.
MSEDCL teams focused on Ekta Colony, located under the Kamptee Road sub-station area. Technicians conducted checks at 40 houses, discovering that 18 of them, where power supply had previously been disconnected, were still receiving uninterrupted electricity through illegal connections made to overhead power equipment.
The 18 house owners had previously defaulted on their payments, which led to the disconnection of power supply. During the checks, MSEDCL technicians discovered that at five homes, meters had been tampered with to show lower usage while power consumption was actually higher. Due to the nature of the locality, the MSEDCL team was accompanied by a strong police presence to avoid any resistance from locals. The operation was overseen by Chief Engineer Dilip Dodke, Executive Engineers Rajesh Ghatole and Sanjay Shrungare, and Additional Executive Engineers Hemendra Gour, Shailesh Washimkar, along with other engineers.
428 Power Theft Cases Found in 20 Days
With only two months remaining in the financial year, MSEDCL has ramped up efforts to combat power theft across Nagpur’s five divisions. A total of 25 transmission lines have been earmarked for detailed inspections. Special squads have been assigned to conduct meter checks in Congress Nagar, Butibori, Civil Lines, Mahal, and Gandhibagh. Over the last 20 days, MSEDCL teams inspected 331 locations and discovered thefts at 428 sites.