New Delhi: Delhi govt has launched a major drive against electricity theft across the city, with power minister Ashish Sood directing the discoms and the enforcement agencies to intensify action against illegal power connections and commercial establishments involved in theft.The crackdown has already yielded significant results in Kamruddin Nagar, a high-loss area in west Delhi’s Mundka division, where aggregate technical and commercial losses had reached 56.4%, causing an estimated annual financial loss of Rs 24.4 crore in recent years.Investigation found that a large number of illegal commercial and industrial units were drawing electricity through unauthorised connections from overhead power lines in the area. The recent operation has prevented theft of more than 10 million units of electricity and led to a substantial reduction in illegal consumption. “The impact has been immediate. Electricity theft at the targeted locations has fallen by around 34,000 units per day,” an official claimed.The power minister said govt was committed to protecting the interests of honest consumers and ensuring uninterrupted power supply across Delhi. “Illegal commercial operations involved in electricity theft will face immediate disconnection of power supply, heavy penalties and sealing of premises,” he warned.To prevent recurrence of theft, govt has ordered replacement of vulnerable overhead power lines with theft-resistant armoured cables. The move is expected to make illegal tapping difficult and improve the reliability of power supply in affected areas.Officials said additional police personnel would be deployed during raids, and advanced data analytics would be used to identify suspicious consumption patterns and detect theft networks. Sood said large-scale power theft was allowed to continue unchecked earlier despite repeated warnings, which resulted in substantial financial losses and placed an unnecessary burden on the public exchequer.“The drive is part of efforts by Delhi govt to improve power infrastructure, reduce transmission losses and provide reliable 24×7 electricity supply across the capital,” said Sood.Delhi has nearly 75 lakh consumers, including around 63 lakh domestic households, making it one of the largest urban electricity markets in the country. Power supply in the city is largely managed by three major distribution companies (discoms) — BSES Rajdhani, BSES Yamuna and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd.
