Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (Mahavitaran) has detected electricity theft worth ₹76.85 lakh in 22 cases across CBD Belapur and Ulwe during inspections conducted in August, identifying the unauthorised use of 1,90,757 units of electricity.
The inspections were carried out under a special anti-electricity-theft campaign launched across various subdivisions of the Bhandup circle on the orders of chief engineer Sanjay Patil. The CBD Belapur subdivision conducted checks of electricity connections, meters and service wires in its jurisdiction.
According to Mahavitaran, inspection teams found several methods allegedly used to prevent actual electricity consumption from being recorded. These included tampering with meters, installing resistors that affected meter readings, bypassing meters and making direct connections to service wires.
Two cases in Ulwe accounted for a substantial portion of the amount detected. Mahavitaran said electricity theft worth ₹51.41 lakh was found in one case and ₹11.84 lakh in another. The utility said the amounts related to these two cases have been recovered from the concerned consumers. It did not provide a separate financial breakdown for the remaining cases.
The campaign was conducted under the guidance of Vashi circle superintendent engineer Deepak Patil. Nerul division executive engineer Suhas Bedgkar and CBD subdivision additional executive engineer Prashant Banait led the inspection operation. Suspicious connections identified during the initial checks were examined in greater detail.
Mahavitaran said action had been initiated under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003, in all 22 cases. The utility added that consumers must pay the assessed electricity-theft amount, electricity bill and penalty within the prescribed period. Failure to make the payment could lead to criminal proceedings.
Chief engineer Sanjay Patil said Mahavitaran would continue taking action against consumers involved in meter tampering, meter bypassing, unauthorised service-wire connections or other methods of electricity theft. The utility has advised consumers to use electricity only through authorised connections and to avoid people offering assistance to evade official billing or inspections.
