Now, FIR must in power theft
TNN 21 September 2009,

MUMBAI: Whether the quantum and amount of power theft is more or less, any tampering with meters and connections will now surely land the accused
consumers in the court of law.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) has decided to abolish its ongoing practice of imposing penalty (compounding charges) on those involved in small power thefts, and instead made the registration of first information report (FIR) with police as mandatory. This is being done to bring transparency in the process of penalisation.

"Fight us in the court if you are caught for power theft,'' is the official message from the state power administration to its 1.5 crore strong consumer base spread across the Mumbai metropolitan region, some parts of the Mumbai city and the entire state.

"The MSEDCL headquarters has issued instructions to this effect to all its offices across the state. Earlier, an exemption of spot fine was being given for first-time users and was at the discretion of the assessing officer. But with this new order, the practice is now over,'' a spokesman of the MSEDCL said in a statement.

A senior MSEDCL official said every year the administration registers over 50,000 cases of power thefts in the state but only 4,000 actually get converted into FIR. "This will also help in making the process of penalisation more transparent,'' he added.