LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) detected total 201 connections from where the customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur and Okara) on the 54th day of the grand anti-power theft campaign.

The LESCO said on Wednesday that the company has also submitted FIR applications against 199 electricity thieves, out of which 116 FIRs have been registered in respective police stations, while 15 accused have been arrested. Grand anti-power theft operations against electricity thieves are being conducted on the directives of federal power division and the LESCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Shahid Haider is supervising these operations.

The LESCO chief vowed that the operations would continue without discrimination until the complete end of electricity theft. The electricity pilferers as well as the LESCO officers and employees who facilitate them are also being brought to justice.

On the 54th consecutive day (Nov. 01) of anti-power theft campaign, the spokesman added, a large number of agricultural and commercial consumers were also found involved in electricity theft and all of them were also disconnected and charged with detection units. Among the seized connections three were commercial, two agricultural and 196 domestic, and all these connections were disconnected and charged with a total of 323,205 units as detection bill amounting to Rs 12.226 million.

He explained that LESCO charged Rs 01 million as detection bill against 5,000 units in Batapur Lahore, Rs 369,560 fine in the form of detection bill in Bhikhhi Sheikhupura; Rs 200,000 detection bill against 4,965 units in Qila Gujjar Singh Lahore, and Rs 200,000 as detection bill against 4,890 units to in Garhi Shahu area.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023