Rajkot: In actions against electricity theft across Saurashtra and Kutch in the 2025-26 financial year, Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (PGVCL) detected 85,191 cases and issued bills for Rs 324.83 crore. Enforcement actions also helped curb losses of 663.87 million units of electricity till Jan.The success was attributed to the intensified anti-theft campaign launched in recent months. PGVCL’s vigilance wing deployed 379 teams, supported by police, to inspect 5,77,397 electricity connections. This exercise led to the detection of alleged electricity theft involving both consumers and non-consumers.Officials discovered a range of theft methods, including direct hooking (langar), bypassing meters using wires, tampering with meter seals and service lines, unauthorized load extensions and misuse of sanctioned connections.The scale of detection rose sharply when previous years, with theft worth Rs 324.83 crore detected in 2025-26 compared to Rs 254.25 crore in 2023-24. Consequently, distribution losses dropped significantly by 4.36 percentage points, from 14.20% to 9.84% by Jan 2026.“Those involved in meter tampering or illegal connections were booked under Section 135 of the Electricity Act, 2003. Power supply for such offenders is disconnected. First-time offenders may get relief on payment of dues and compounding charges, but repeat offenders face prosecution,” said P J Mehta, chief engineer, PGVCL.By region, the Jamnagar circle recorded the highest value of theft detected at Rs 57.56 crore, while Rajkot Rural reported the highest number of cases, with 10,230 connections flagged.Legal action has been initiated against offenders. PGVCL said its drive will continue in FY 2026-27, with a focus on curbing theft and protecting honest consumers. Authorities also urged citizens to report cases of power theft anonymously.
