Alarmed by the mounting line losses and no let-up in power theft, UP Power Corporation has decided to intensify vigil on all power connections of 10 kilowatt and above.
UPPCl officials will regularly inspect metres of heavy load connections and file report to the power corporation brass.
The power corporation is under intense pressure of the power regulator to bring down line losses to 15 per cent.
The UPPCl has set up an audit cell in all five power distribution companies, headed by a superintending engineer. The data obtained by the audit cell will be sent to an independent agency for analysis.
The power corporation has also decided to step up monitoring of heavy load connections of seasonal industries.
Sources in the UPPCl said that despite a state-wide crackdown on power theft, there had been no let-up in financial losses.
The losses of the power distribution utilities have increased from Rs 77 crore in 2000-01 to around Rs 76,000 crore in 2017-18.
The losses have kept accumulating since 2000-01 when UP Electricity Board was split into three autonomous public sector units — UP Power Generation Corporation ltd., UP Transmission Corporation ltd. and UP Power Corporation ltd.
The financial losses of UPPCl rose from Rs 77.47 crore in 2000-01 to more than Rs 5,000 crore by 2005-06. Between 2006 and 2007, when the UP Assembly elections were round the corner, the UPPCl incurred a loss of Rs 3,775.75 crore.
After the Bahujan Samaj Party formed the government in UP in 2007, commercial losses incurred by UPPCl did not improve and kept accumulating. In fact, during the BSP’s 5-year rule, the power corporation registered losses of over Rs 24,000 crore.
The situation further deteriorated during the Akhilesh Yadav government when the losses increased by over Rs 38,000 crore. The highest ever loss of over Rs 16,700 crore was recorded in 2013-14.
Post-2014 lok Sabha polls, the power distribution losses dropped to Rs 4,868 crore even as the state government launched a crackdown on power pilferers. Between 2015 and 2016, the UPPCl recorded Rs 800 crore losses.
Power distribution losses rose sharply again just before the UP Assembly election in 2017, shooting up to Rs 6,085 crore in 2016-17.
The UP government has already announced to increase the number of power vigilance teams from the existing 55 to 88, besides constituting special raid squads to crack down on power pilferers.
The government has also announced to check industrial and independent feeders to assess power thefts.