Maharashtra electricity theft enforcement has uncovered 27,964 cases across the state in the past three months, with assessed losses of Rs 66.28 crore, according to Mahavitaran. The state power distribution utility said it used an artificial intelligence-based model to identify suspicious consumption patterns and support inspections.
Of the 27,964 cases detected, assessments have been completed in 24,508 cases, establishing electricity theft valued at Rs 66.28 crore. Mahavitaran said 10,810 consumers have so far paid Rs 29.85 crore towards the assessed amount and penalties.
The utility has filed criminal cases against 289 consumers who did not pay the prescribed penalty. The enforcement action covers theft carried out by directly tapping electricity lines and by tampering with meters, according to the report.
Mahavitaran said its AI model analyses a consumer’s historical electricity-use pattern and the consumption profile of the surrounding area. It also examines sudden increases or decreases in demand, technical changes in meters and more than 50 other technical parameters on a continuous, 24-hour basis.
When the system identifies a suspicious variation in electricity consumption, the consumer or location is placed in a high-risk category. Mahavitaran said this enables its teams to identify locations for inspection without relying only on routine or random checks. The utility did not provide details in the report on the model’s accuracy, the number of inspections generated by the system or the safeguards used before enforcement action is initiated.
More than 190 special flying squads are operating across Maharashtra to act against electricity theft. The teams are responsible for checking connections and documenting suspected violations. The regional distribution of cases reported by Mahavitaran was 11,083 in the Konkan region, 5,949 in Nagpur, 5,849 in Pune and 5,083 in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, adding up to the statewide total.
The enforcement process has also been moved online through Mahavitaran’s Theft Tracking and Monitoring System. A dedicated mobile application records the location of suspected theft, inspection photographs, digital inspection documents, disconnection of supply at the site and recovery of penal bills.
The utility said real-time updates through the application have improved the speed and transparency of the process. The system links field inspection with billing and recovery, creating a digital record from the identification of a suspected case to the collection of the assessed amount.
Mahavitaran’s reported figures show that the campaign has recovered about 45 per cent of the Rs 66.28 crore assessed in the 24,508 completed cases. The utility said inspections and recovery efforts would continue through its regional enforcement teams and online monitoring system.
