<p>Owners of e-rickshaws – mostly the ones run illegally – emerge as the biggest electricity thieves in the city, according to an ‘internal assessment’ by a private power distribution company.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The assessment claims this leaves discoms poorer by up to Rs 200 crore every year.<br />The assessment says the power thieves are not just from the city but e-rickshaw owners from NCR towns cross over to Delhi localities and pay mafias, which illegally tap power and run unauthorised charging stations. <br /><br />An e-rickshaw takes approximately six hours to charge and the entire operation is carried out at night.<br /><br />“Most of these e-rickshaws are illegally charged in batches – which can go up to 50 at a time – as part of an organised illegal network run by the local mafia,” said a power-sector insider.<br />“Discoms are also planning a massive crackdown against power theft by e-rickshaws. Illegal charging not only burdens their customers but also poses a threat to the lives of the poor e-rickshaw drivers,” he added.<br /><br />A fully charged e-rickshaw, operating on four 900 V batteries, runs for 80 km to 100 km per charge. The internal survey calculates that each e-rickshaw consumes an average of 7-10 units per day.<br /><br />The survey claims that the discoms in Delhi are incurring an estimated monthly loss of Rs 14-17 crore due to power thefts by e-rickshaws. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.<br />Nearly 50 cases of e-rickshaw-related power thefts have been reported in the recent past, according to the survey. Many of these have been forwarded to special courts that deal with electricity theft.<br /><br />The assessment says that the areas where these e-rickshaws are illegally serviced and charged include Keshav Puram and Civil Lines in north Delhi; Raghubir Nagar, Madipur and Tagore Garden in west Delhi; Batla House, Sangam Vihar, Kalkaji in south Delhi; and Sarai Kale Kha and Seelampur in east Delhi.<br /><br />It adds that the local mafia also collects a fixed amount, in the range of Rs 70-100 from each rickshaw, in the name of ‘parking and charging’ expenses.<br /><br />Illegal charging of e-rickshaws with live wires also poses a risk of risk of electrocution. Recently, an e-rickshaw driver was electrocuted while charging his vehicle with a live cable..<br /><br />There are an estimated one lakh battery-operated rickshaws plying in the national capital. Most of them are assembled in workshops in the unorganised sector using kits from China.<br /><br /></p>
<p>Owners of e-rickshaws – mostly the ones run illegally – emerge as the biggest electricity thieves in the city, according to an ‘internal assessment’ by a private power distribution company.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The assessment claims this leaves discoms poorer by up to Rs 200 crore every year.<br />The assessment says the power thieves are not just from the city but e-rickshaw owners from NCR towns cross over to Delhi localities and pay mafias, which illegally tap power and run unauthorised charging stations. <br /><br />An e-rickshaw takes approximately six hours to charge and the entire operation is carried out at night.<br /><br />“Most of these e-rickshaws are illegally charged in batches – which can go up to 50 at a time – as part of an organised illegal network run by the local mafia,” said a power-sector insider.<br />“Discoms are also planning a massive crackdown against power theft by e-rickshaws. Illegal charging not only burdens their customers but also poses a threat to the lives of the poor e-rickshaw drivers,” he added.<br /><br />A fully charged e-rickshaw, operating on four 900 V batteries, runs for 80 km to 100 km per charge. The internal survey calculates that each e-rickshaw consumes an average of 7-10 units per day.<br /><br />The survey claims that the discoms in Delhi are incurring an estimated monthly loss of Rs 14-17 crore due to power thefts by e-rickshaws. The claim couldn’t be independently verified.<br />Nearly 50 cases of e-rickshaw-related power thefts have been reported in the recent past, according to the survey. Many of these have been forwarded to special courts that deal with electricity theft.<br /><br />The assessment says that the areas where these e-rickshaws are illegally serviced and charged include Keshav Puram and Civil Lines in north Delhi; Raghubir Nagar, Madipur and Tagore Garden in west Delhi; Batla House, Sangam Vihar, Kalkaji in south Delhi; and Sarai Kale Kha and Seelampur in east Delhi.<br /><br />It adds that the local mafia also collects a fixed amount, in the range of Rs 70-100 from each rickshaw, in the name of ‘parking and charging’ expenses.<br /><br />Illegal charging of e-rickshaws with live wires also poses a risk of risk of electrocution. Recently, an e-rickshaw driver was electrocuted while charging his vehicle with a live cable..<br /><br />There are an estimated one lakh battery-operated rickshaws plying in the national capital. Most of them are assembled in workshops in the unorganised sector using kits from China.<br /><br /></p>
