-company suspects act is retaliation by power thief
A car owned by a Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL) loss reduction supervisor in Berbice was set on fire early Thursday morning in what the company suspects is a retaliatory attack carried out by a person that had been accused of stealing electricity.
The police are currently investigating the attack, GPL said in a statement yesterday, while suggesting that it was part of a bid to prevent prosecution for the theft of power.
“As the company continues the relentless loss reduction battle, perpetrators try to find ingenious ways of stealing and will do virtually anything to prevent prosecution, it said, while recalling the murder of the company’s chief security officer, Clifford Peters, in 2009 while investigating alleged electricity theft.
Between 2007 and this year, it said, almost 50,000 illegal connections were found and removed. Also, of approximately 2,500 persons who were arrested and charged, over 500 were convicted and there are over 1,000 cases pending in the courts.
GPL noted that many employees put themselves at risk every day to curb electricity losses. “GPL will do everything in its power to bring perpetrators to justice, and will fully support its honest and hard-working employees,” it declared.
At the same time, it acknowledged that there are others who are corrupt and collude with perpetrators and the company dismisses them forthwith, and seeks criminal prosecution against them.
GPL said it will not give up its fight against electricity thieves, noting that it has invested hundreds of millions of dollars, and will continue to invest significantly, in reducing losses. To this end, it said the company is moving to implement sophisticated technology that will easily identify customers who are stealing. “The technology will provide on-line real time information twenty fours a day, which will enable GPL to respond instantly. In addition, the system will record vital statistics which will be presented as evidence in court. This technology has had huge success in curbing electricity theft in many countries world-wide,” it explained.
Meanwhile, the company strongly encouraged persons to report electricity theft using through its hotline, 225 5251, during working hours. Although it noted that personal details do not need to be included with reports it added that all information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
