Amended law: Power thieves to face up to 7-year imprisonment

Power ministry constituting special teams to launch countrywide crackdown

ISLAMABAD: After amendment in the Electricity Act, a new law is now applicable under which power theft has been declared a serious crime, trial of which shall be conducted in Electricity Utility Court. Those found involved in power theft will now be arrested without warrants and these arrests will be non-bailable.

Under various clauses of the new law, power thieves will have to face serious punishments including up to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment and fine of up to Rs10 million. Apart from this, arrears will now be recovered as land revenue arrears.

The defaulter’s property may also be confiscated and auctioned to recover outstanding bills.

According to the new law, abstraction or tampering with transmission lines will be bookable under clause 462-H with 3 years of rigorous imprisonment or Rs10 million fine or both. Abstraction or tampering with distribution lines will be punished under clause 462-I with up to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment or Rs3 million fine or both.

Meter tampering has also been addressed under the new law.

Meter tampering by domestic consumers will be punished under clause 462-J with up to 2 years of rigorous imprisonment or Rs1 million fine or both. Similar crime by industrial and commercial consumers will be punishable with up to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment or Rs6 million fine or both.

The agricultural consumers will be punished for meter tampering under clause 462-L with up to 2 years of rigorous imprisonment or Rs2.5 million fine or both.

In addition damaging or destroying distribution and transmission lines or meters will be punished under clause 462-M with up to 7 years of rigorous imprisonment with not less than Rs3 million fine.

After application of the new law, Ministry of Water and Power is constituting special teams to crackdown on power theft across the country.

These special teams along with the police will take action across the board against power thieves in accordance with the law.

It is appealed to the general public to identify power theft in their surroundings and inform about the same on Ministry of Water and Power’s special hotline [phone]. The identity of the informant will be kept strictly confidential.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 17^th, 2016.