New Delhi: Delhi's power regulator DERC has slapped a Rs 20,000 penalty on a distribution company for "violation" of rules in a 10-year-old case of power theft.
The Delhi Electricty Regulatory Commission (DERC) imposed the penalty on BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) on a petition filed by the director of AK Mehta and Company, alleging violations of provisions of the Delhi Electricity Supply Code and Performance Standards Regulations, 2007. In its order issued on June 14, the Commission found that respondent BRPL "violated provisions of Regulations 52(viii) and 53(ii) of the Delhi Electricity Supply Code and Performance Standards Regulations, 2007."
"For violation of Regulations 52 (viii) and 53(ii) the Commission imposes penalty of Rs 20,00, Rs 10,000 for each violation, to be paid within 30 days," it said. In a case of dishonest abstraction of energy (DAE), a power meter of the petitioner was sent to National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and he was informed through a letter of respondent(BRPL) dated December 10, 2008.
"The respondent failed to produce evidence of seizure memo of the date of removal of meter. The meter was removed on December 10, 2008. Hence, the respondent violated the Regulations 52 (viii) of Delhi Electricity Supply Code and Performance Standards Regulations, 2007," the order stated.
Regulation 52 (viii) of Supply Code, 2007, says that in case of suspected theft of power, the authorised officer will remove the old meter and seal it in the presence of the consumer or his representative.