The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) has detected a total of 288 connections from where customers were pilfering electricity in all its circles of five districts (Lahore, Sheikhupura, Nankana Sahib, Kasur and Okara) on the 43rd of a grand anti-power theft campaign. The LESCO spokesman told media here Friday that the company has also lodged FIRs against 285 electricity thieves, out of which 218 have been registered in respective police stations, while 36 accused have been arrested. Grand anti-power theft operations against electricity thieves are being conducted on the directives of the Federal Power Division and the LESCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Shahid Haider is supervising the operations. The LESCO chief vowed that the operations would continue without discrimination until a complete end to electricity theft. Electricity pilferers as well as LESCO officers and employees who facilitate them are also being brought to justice.

On the 43rd consecutive day (Oct. 20) of the anti-power theft campaign, the spokesman added, large commercial consumers were also found involved in electricity theft and all of them were also disconnected and charged with detection units. Among the cut-off connections, nine were commercial and 279 domestic, and all the connections were charged a total of 439,684 units as detection bills amounting to Rs 21.750 million. He explained that LESCO charged Rs 0.450 million detection bills against 8,915 units to an electricity pilferer in Canal Fort area; Rs 0.360 million fine in the form of a detection bill against 4,025 units to a customer stealing electricity in Gulshan-e-Rehman area of Rasoolpura; a Rs 0.358 million detection bill against 4,062 units to a power thief in Nawab Town Lahore; and a Rs 0.338 million detection bill against 5,200 units to another power thief in Anarkali area of Lahore.

 
Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)