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NEW DELHI -- Seven years ago, more than 50% of the power distributed by North Delhi Power Ltd. wasn't paid for by customers. Today, the company has cut that to 15%, signaling that one of India's biggest infrastructure problems can be solved, if tackled aggressively.
Power theft by rich and poor customers as well as businesses has plagued India for decades, hindering foreign and domestic investment that could spark the increase in generating capacity the nation desperately needs.
The experience of North Delhi Power, a joint venture between the Delhi government and Mumbai-based Tata Power Co. Ltd., shows that a broad and sustained effort can make a difference.
A key challenge for power companies is reducing theft by India's poor. Many have come to view free electricity as a right, something that politicians have done little to counter in a bid to win votes.
"The main problem in arresting the theft is a lack of political will," said Vijay Kumar, who works with the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Sajida Siddiqui and her neighbors in New Seemapuri, an impoverished area of Delhi, say they don't pay for power they use at home because it is too expensive. Among their neighbors, a typical household power bill runs between 600 rupees ($13) and 700 rupees a month, while their household monthly income is between 3,000 rupees and 4,000 rupees. Tapping into the network by attaching wires to power lines, they use the electricity to run water heaters, refrigerators and other appliances.
Manoj Edathikudy, who works with the Electricity Board in the South Indian state of Kerala, says, "People are having that feeling that electricity is something they can take without paying. ... That kind of mind-set has been developed over years."
Turning some of these people into paying customers will help North Delhi Power hit its target of reducing losses of power due to theft and other reasons to 12% by the end of March, says Chief Executive Sunil Wadhwa.
In addition to turning power thieves into paying customers, North Delhi Power has to keep an eye out for recidivists.
"We have to be very vigilant that those who were stealing in the past do not think our attention is off them," Mr. Wadhwa said. "Sustenance at these levels is a challenge."
North Delhi Power trains its staff to coax individuals to expose neighborhood power theft, and doles out rewards to those who report it. For large industrial customers, the utility introduced automated meter-reading, turning to wireless technology in a bid to curb the opportunity for customers to bribe meter readers.
Backed by the Central Industrial Security Force, a government agency that is part of the police, North Delhi Power conducts occasional raids in neighborhoods where its intelligence indicates many residents may be stealing electricity. The company obtains information through individuals' reports of suspected theft as well as spot checks in areas where losses are high.
To school its employees in antitheft tactics and other aspects of the business, North Delhi Power runs a training center in northwest Delhi. Employees learn how meters can be manipulated -- powerful magnets can deactivate the meter's mechanism -- and how to safeguard against the practice. To keep thieves from tapping power directly from overhead lines, employees learn to replace wires with insulated cables.
Utilities across India are sending employees to North Delhi Power's center to learn how to rein in losses.
Bringing down aggregate technical and commercial losses -- in other words, making sure power is paid for -- is vital, Mr. Wadhwa, the CEO, says, noting that "this, in a way, is basically the most critical operating lever for a company."
For India as a whole, those technical and commercial losses -- which include power lost through inefficient transmission, as well as power unpaid for due to bills going astray -- are running at about 38%, said Sushilkumar Shinde, India's power minister.
About 20% of all power is stolen, Mr. Shinde said, and the government is working to decrease that. Funding for a program to rein in the theft was more than doubled to $437 million in the recent budget. The government also aims to create awareness through training and public-information campaigns, Mr. Shinde said. "It's a longstanding problem," he adds. Fixing it "will take some years."
The industry is bearing the brunt of the power theft. Lenders look to bankroll projects that will pay, said Praveen Chorghade, the North Delhi Power executive in charge of upgrading the company's metering and billing processes. Failure to collect revenues "affects investment in the sector," he said.
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