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FAISALABAD, Oct 29 (APP):The Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) has nabbed 24031 power pilferers from eight districts of its region and imposed a total fine of Rs.2.5862 billion.
According to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) FESCO Engineer Muhammad Amir, the FESCO enforcement teams have apprehended 30 power thieves during last 24 hours which has raised the toll of all apprehended power pilferers up to 24,031 from its six operational circles.
The FESCO imposed penalties of Rs.4 million 30 power pilferers under the head of detection units of more than 201,000 whereas total fine of Rs.2.5862 billion was imposed on 24031 accused on charge of stealing 55.304 million electricity units. The FESCO also recovered Rs.1.96 billion from these accused who were stealing electricity through various methods including direct hooking, shunt systems, tampering with meter bodies, slowing down meters, etc., he added.
Giving some further details, he said that 22,383 domestic, 995 commercial, 731 agricultural and 122 industrial connections were found involved in power theft. Hence, legal proceedings have been initiated against 24,000 offenders with 22,381 cases already registered under the newly amended Electricity Theft Act, he said, adding that 15,659 accused have so far been taken into custody in connection with these offences.
Giving circle-wise performance details, he said that Faisalabad First Circle detected 5,637 power thieves fined over Rs641.8 million on 13.18 million detection units; Second Circle caught 4,933 culprits fined Rs582.6 million for 13.04 million units; Jhang Circle unearthed 2,607 thieves fined Rs215.5 million on 6.35 million units; Sargodha Circle detected 3,582 violators fined Rs438.4 million on 8.66 million units; Mianwali Circle recorded 5,721 cases fined Rs536.3 million for 17.2 million units; while Toba Tek Singh Circle caught 1,551 thieves fined Rs171.2 million on 3.32 million units.
FESCO teams have also removed tampered meters and illegal connections from the sites during these operations, he added.
FESCO Chief reiterated that a zero-tolerance policy is being implemented against power theft across the FESCO region without any discrimination.
He said that power theft is a national crime that must be eradicated completely. The campaign would continue until the last electricity thief is apprehended, he added.
He urged the public to remain vigilant and immediately report any suspicious activity or illegal power use to the FESCO helpline or contact on the numbers printed on electricity bills as the collective public cooperation is vital to eliminate this menace for the sake of national progress.