Delhi’s power losses are double that of Bihar’s

Take transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. Experts say that even in the worst of conditions for a compact city like Delhi, T&D losses should not exceed 10 or at the most 15 per cent. However, for almost a decade, Delhi has been registering staggering T&D losses of over 40 per cent. Now the figure is gradually reaching the 50 per cent mark. Bihar is relatively better placed with a T&D loss of around 30 per cent whereas the all India average stands at 23.

Board officials do not like comparisons. "Other states like Bihar do not take into account the power supplied for the agriculture sector. States like Punjab and Haryana supply free electricity to their farmers and also do not count the losses thus incurred. On the other hand, Delhi has almost no agriculture supply, hence the T&D losses work up to such a huge number," says Y P Singh, DVB’s Member (Technical).

But still where does 50 per cent of Delhi’s electricity vanish? "The biggest component of Delhi’s T&D losses is power theft," says Singh. And the prime culprits, contrary to popular perception are not jhuggis but the plush colonies like Vasant Vihar, South Extension and Greater Kailash.

For example, when DVB’s Enforcement Department squad raided a residence of a retired Brigadier in an affluent locality, they were surprised to find a sanctioned load less than 1 kilo watt. This is hardly enough to light two bulbs and a ceiling fan. The actual load was found to be more than 14 kilo watts.

All this is possible only because of rampant corruption in the Board. "We do not deny this fact that some of our staff is also involved in this," says Singh. Ironically, DVB’s own Enforcement Department (ED) has to conduct raids to check power theft and even cases of meter-tampering in areas regularly visited areas by its staff.

Meanwhile, DVB conveniently makes Delhi’s jhuggi dwellers the scapegoat. When the fact is that in unauthorised slums, the stolen load does not go beyond single-point connections consuming about 1.2 kilo watts. This is just enough to run a fan, television and bulb.

"In posh colonies, the most common method of stealing electricity is by bypassing the meters or tampering with them. This may be done in connivance with local staff or even local electricians," explains D Bagchi, DVB’s Inspector General (Enforcement).

He explains that for every kilo watt, the consumer has to pay certain minimum charges and the bill is charged according to the sanctioned load. So for a bungalow with a sanctioned load of about 11 kilo watts, the billing is very high. Consumers simply bypass the meters or tamper with them so they do not have to pay bills for the huge amount of electricity they consume. "The only immediate solution for Delhi’s power crisis is controlling power theft. We are carrying out 24-hour drives in unauthorised colonies for this purpose," says Singh.