Delhi Power Discoms Tackle Illegal E-Rickshaw Charging Facilities

The city's power discoms are battling the menace of illegal e-rickshaw charging facilities that cause an estimated loss of around Rs 120 crore annually besides posing safety risks, discom officials said on Tuesday. Delhi has around 1.6 lakh e-rickshaws out of which just 50,000 are registered with with Transport Department of the city government. The department has been conducting a drive to seize and scrap unregistered e-rickshaws.

The discoms and Power Department in the past tried to curb power theft in charging of e-rickshaws and address safety issues. Around 4,000 legal e-rickshaw charging connections have been given to individuals and operators. Each connection is capable of charging multiple e-rickshaws, discom officials said.

"Besides revenue loss, illegal charging and sub-standard batteries pose significant safety hazards," said a discom official.

Various incidents of fire and electrocution due to faulty charging facility have been reported recently in the city. Last week, a man was electrocuted while charging an e-rickshaw in northeast Delhi.

"This is a new kind of power theft being witnessed now. It's estimated that over 60% of e-rickshaws are involved in power theft, resulting in a loss of 15-20 MW across the city, translating to an annual loss of around Rs 120 crore," they said.

Illegal charging through direct theft and the use of sub-standard batteries pose significant safety hazards. Exposed electricity wires left open during illegal charging and non-adherence to safety standards often cause sparks and short circuits, they said.

"Large-scale illegal charging of e-rickshaws at single, unplanned locations can also lead to breakdowns and voltage issues. Many e-rickshaws involved in power theft are charged in batches as part of an organized illegal network controlled by local strongmen," official sources said.

"E-rickshaw owners or drivers pay a fixed fee of Rs 200-300 per day per e-rickshaw to the 'parking and charging' mafia. Charging usually takes 6-7 hours and occurs at night," they said.

These illegal charging locations are often on encroached lands that belong to various agencies. The operators use illegal wiretapping from low-voltage mains to steal electricity, they said.

In another modus operandi, local strongmen own several e-rickshaws, renting them to drivers and including charging in the rental fee. These strongmen hook power from nearby low voltage mains, posing additional safety risks, the officials said.

The discoms have identified several areas in the city with high e-rickshaw power theft including Sangam Vihar, Jamia, Batla House, Tughlakabad, Sarai Kale Khan,Madipur, Nangloi, Matiala,Mandawali, Minto Road, Seelampur, Yamuna Vihar, Shastri Park, Karawal Nagar, Mustafabad, Nand Nagri, Karol Bagh, Civil Lines, Mukherjee Nagar, Rohini, Bawana and Narela among other.

The discoms have tried strengthening network security, conversion of low-tension aerial bunched cables to armoured cables, application of armoured cast tape, installation of prodigy meters, night surveillance, physical inspections and consumer awareness to check the menace that remains to be tamed, discom officials said.

The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission has introduced a special tariff category for e-rickshaw charging at Rs 4.50 per unit to encourage legal connections.

In general, around 200 e-rickshaw charging locations, with a load of about 3 MW, are booked for theft every year in Delhi, they added.