Bhubaneswar: With a view to curbing power pilferage in state, distribution company Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu), Odisha has announced reward for the people who will inform it about power theft.
Speaking to reporters here Thursday, Cesu’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Arun Bothra said people will now be rewarded for reporting power theft.
“Power theft complainants will now get 10 per cent of the penalty amount, if electricity theft is detected. However, the names of the informers will be kept secret,” said Bothra. Whenever anyone notices power theft, he/she can send an SMS to 9437158670 to stop the theft.
Around 90 per cent of consumers are facing problem like low voltage, power tripping and other issues due to power theft by 10 per cent of the consumers, Bothra said.
Elaborating about the development, he said, “We will soon launch a campaign to curb power pilferage and we want to engage SHGs in meter reading, bill collection and e-payment system. They will be provided with machines after training.”
“People are now active on Twitter and I have been receiving various complaints and am responding too. But I would request them to file complaints with Cesu and not in my personal account,” he said.