Centre asks states to adopt anti theft laws to curb losses

NEW DELHI: In a bid to curb power theft, Centre today asked states to put in place an anti-theft legislation on the lines of measures adopted by West Bengal.
Speaking at a function organised by New Delhi Power Ltd (NDPL), Power Secretary R V Shahi said the power theft problem plaguing various power utilities accounted for 25-30 per cent of losses, adding that capital which was under the grip of acute power shortage was losing 80-100 MW of power.
He said that several states had adopted legislative measures to tackle the theft problem and Centre would soon write to Delhi government to adopt measures to check the losses.
West Bengal has derived maximum advantage of anti-theft legislation and Maharasthra is also drafting similar legislation to tackle the problem, he said.
Asked about steps being taken to alleviate the power crisis in Delhi, he said an additional 150 MW of power would be allotted to the state.
Shahi said Power Ministry had also approached the Petroleum Ministry to provide extra gas to meet the increased demand for power this winter.
The Secretary also added that Delhi had been asked to expedite completion of 400 KV transmission line at Bawana inorder to increase absorption capacity of the system.
On the issue of securitisation of power sector dues, he said that bonds would soon be issued to the power utilities as part of a tri-partite agreement with SEBs and states.
In order to strengthen human resources, centre would train 10,000 distribution managers across the country within next three years.