Bihar: Power theft worth Rs 34 crore detected, 10,000 FIRs lodged

PATNA: The Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) detected power theft worth Rs 34.37 crore in 20 circles across the state and registered 10,357 FIRs against the defaulters besides recovering Rs 30.15 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal. Of Rs 34.37 crore, Rs 20.52 crore was recovered from the defaulters.
In the first quarter of this fiscal year, a drive was launched by the BSPHCL special task force to monitor and prevent electricity theft across the state.
The number of FIRs lodged in the first quarter of current fiscal has jumped more than eight times to 1,243 cases registered in the same period last fiscal. Enthused by the result, the BSPHCL has decided to continue the drive against power theft.
BSPHCL chairman-cum-managing director Sanjeev Hans said, "An annual plan for each engineer has been prepared and handed over to each division office which comprises different billing goals, devising action plan for prevention of electricity theft and increasing revenue collection and planning for recovery from the defaulters."
"From this fiscal, our personnel are working in rural areas of the state as well to collect revenue by organizing camps at different places. Irregularities related to electricity bill will not be tolerated. Consumers are also being made aware on the points related to the benefits of paying electricity bill on time," he said.