The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Now, a remote control for stealing power

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Thursday, Nov 20, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Now, a remote control for stealing power

Special Correspondent

Dismissed KPTCL mechanic is the brain behind this

The meters are opened, tampered with and closed with fake seals
A new law with stringent punishment likely to curb power theft

BANGALORE: Power theft too has gone hi-tech in the country’s IT capital of Bangalore. Bescom vigilance squad has detected hi-tech power theft in which remote control devices were used to tamper with electricity meters.

Hi-tech devices were being used to tamper the meters at 11 installations most of which were either the ice factories or plastic industries. Of these, remote control devices were used by three installations.

Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa told presspersons here on Wednesday that these industries were using remote control devices to prevent the meter from working during peak hours when the power consumption would be high.

Modus operandi

The modus operandi of most of these industries was to break-open the seal of the meters, tamper with them and reseal them with the help of fake seals.

What is even more shocking is that the brain behind this racket is a dismissed mechanic of Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd.

During the search operations, the vigilance squad seized a large number of fake seals of various meter manufacturing companies and remote control devices.

The dismissed mechanic has been arrested and criminal cases filed against him in addition to slapping penalties on the power-stealing industries.

The Chief Minister said he was examining the possibility of permanently disconnecting power supply to those found guilty of power theft.

Such a stringent measure was a must to reduce power theft at a time when the State was facing serious shortage of power, he said.

The industries had been slapped with a penalty of about Rs. 52 lakh.

The industries which indulged in power theft are: Mukund Plastics, Magadi Main Road (Penalty Rs. 8 lakh); Manjunath Ice Factory, New Tharagu Pet (about Rs. 5.20 lakh); Manjunath Ice Factory, Mysore Road (Rs. 2.20 lakh); Ice Factory, Shivajinagar (Rs. 2.15 lakh); Ice Factory Shivajinagar (Rs. 1.17 lakh); Suryaprakash Ice Factory, Thimmaiah Road (Rs. 7 lakh); Ice Factory, Thimmaiah Road (Rs. 1.06 lakh); Tavakal Ice Factory, D.J. Halli (Rs. 4.50 lakh); Govardhana Ice Factory, Sarakki (Rs. 6.20 lakh), Hamsha Enterprises, Magadi Road (Rs. 9 lakh) and Hamsree Garments (Rs. 5.20 lakh) .

The vigilance squad has detected power theft in 1,000 installations of the 5,000 installations which were inspected by it in October.

It has slapped a penalty of Rs. 2.57 crore on the owners of these installations.

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