Isn't the electricity theft a punishable offence in India?

Electricity has become one of the major necessities of everybody and also different organizations. Power failure can cause instant shutting down of any undergoing procedure. Thereby, the commercial and residential demands for electrical inverters and generators have been uprising day by day. 

There are major developments happening in different sectors of our country. Thereby, the need as well as the loss of electrical energy has an equal share in the economical development. Illegal usage of electrical power is defined as electricity theft. Is that a crime? Of course, it is.

Is there any national law against the power theft in India?

Yes, there are legal procedures and actions against the unlawful usage of electrical power. As per the Electricity Act-2003, any illegal usage of electricity during generation, transmission, distribution, and trading would be dealt with strict measures. 

The penalty may include 6 months to 5 years imprisonment and a solid INR (Indian National Rupees) fine depending on the total amount of load that has been theft. The imprisonment and the cash fine also depend upon the number of times the offence has been repeated by the power culprit.

Some power theft penalties in India

In 2017, a restaurant owner was caught for a power theft from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply. And he was penalised with an amount of ₹4.85 crores. Also, a man in Delhi was imposed with both 2 years imprisonment and a fine of  ₹81 lakhs for the theft of electricity from the Reliance Energy.

Nobody other than licensed or registered personal is authorized to the usage and consumption of electricity in India. It is our duty to join together to work towards the economical development of our country. Feel free to register complaints once you see somebody stealing electricity from your or nearby premise.