The government launched a campaign against theft of electricity, in which the Enemalta Corporation will implement measures aimed at ceasing this abuse.
Investment, Industry and Information Technology Minister Austin Gatt explained that theft of electricity cost the corporation between Lm7 million and Lm9 million each year.
The corporation introduced a number of measures to control the theft of electricity, including the set up of a specialised unit, investigations without notice and the use of information in order to identify theft cases.
In fact, the corporation is currently undergoing 250 inspections per week and on average, seven per cent of the households inspected were caught to be stealing electricity.
Today, many theft cases are identified directly from the offices prior to the inspections. This is leading to an increase in the identification of cases. In 2005, metres inspections increased by 53 per cent and as a result the number of household found to be stealing electricity went up by 150 per cent over the previous year. This year, there were 119 theft cases.
Regarding the legislation reform, Dr Gatt explained that as soon as the Enemalta confirms the theft case, it has the right to suspend the electricity supply of the involved household. The corporation could request the consumer to pay the amount of electricity that has been stolen with interest and other charges.
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