Jammu, Nov 29: Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL), in its renewed drive against power pilferage and default in payments, has disconnected over 1700 “connections of influential consumers.”
The Corporation has also realised a revenue of Rs 9.03 Cr as pending arrear dues during the last two days.
“In the first place, connections of 1702 consumers including influential consumers (industries, hotels and influential persons) were disconnected to sensitize the masses to clear their liabilities on account of electricity bills and develop habits of paying electricity bills in time,” a JPDCL spokesperson said
“During the two-day operation, JPDCL collected a substantial revenue of Rs 9.03 Cr in pending arrear dues on Tuesday alone, reflecting the severity of the issue and the determination to address outstanding payments promptly,” he said.
The inspection covered various circles in the Jammu division, with 1411 inspections in the Jammu division. As part of these efforts, 432 KW load was added across the ten districts of Jammu province.
The crackdown, part of JPDCL’s ongoing efforts to curb energy theft and address financial irregularities, witnessed an intensified inspection process, including day and night patrolling to check power pilferage, JPDCL spokespersons said, while highlighting the initiative aimed to tighten the noose on consumers engaged in widespread hooking, violation of agreed load, and bypassing of meters.
It was informed that a total of 49,028 inspections were conducted from March-2023 till October-2023 in which power of 23131 consumers was disconnected and a revenue of Rs 68.19 Cr was realized after disconnections. “JPDCL urges all the consumers to immediately clear the pending dues so as to avoid disconnection,” the spokesperson said.
In an official statement, the JPDCL emphasized its commitment to providing relief to genuine consumers, ensuring that they were not burdened by the actions of erring individuals. The power distribution company further underscored the need to crack down on practices such as energy pilferage, which not only lead to outages but also result in damage to transformers, causing inconvenience to legitimate consumers.
Taking cognisance of huge arrears despite providing a reliable power supply amid winters, various Sub Divisions of JPDCL had launched a fresh massive disconnection drive vis-a-vis influential and chronic defaulters having huge arrears. During the drive domestic, industrial and commercial consumers having huge arrears were targeted, it was stated.
The JPDCL urged consumers to settle their pending bills promptly to avoid power disconnections, emphasising that it remains committed to providing uninterrupted and reliable power supply to those who fulfilled their financial obligations.