The drive to crackdown on electricity theft was considerably strengthened by the introduction last Saturday of new regulations that have given more strength to enforcement officers and stipulate harsher punishment for those who abuse.

These new regulations have meant the end of the older procedure which was time consuming and very often did not act as enough of a deterrent, Enemalta said in a statement. In addition, Enemalta will be able to gather its dues a lot quicker and can take a case to arbitration rather than have to go through long drawn out court cases.

In addition, the new regulations stipulate that charges will not have to be filed ex officio by police and are simply started by filing a criminal complaint in the courts.

In addition, if Enemalta staff have reason to believe that a meter has been tampered with, they can immediately suspend power provision until the perpetrator pays his or her dues in full.

Enemalta can also demand that the perpetrator pay up dues in full to a capped level of five years plus interest.

Enemalta also has the right to request an additional 10 per cent of the total sum due as compensation and charge for the removal of tampered meters and the installation of new ones.

Enemalta can also refuse to reinstate supply until bills have been paid up or a contract has been drawn up to that effect.

In total, 2,408 clients regularised their position in a period of grace given by Enemalta before the new regulations came into force. These clients also paid a “waiver” fee and 84 were commercial establishments. A total of Lm240,000 was paid in fees and no action will be taken against these clients by Enemalta.

Enemalta projected that if these customers pay their bills as others do, revenue would increase by Lm500,000.

Enemalta said those that came forward were estimated to be only 5.5 per cent of those who had tampered meters. As a result, the corporation will be setting out on a campaign to weed out those who were still using tampered meters. As from today, 250 inspections per week will be carried out and seven per cent of those are expected to result in positive finds for tampered with meters.

In 2005, inspection rates went up by 53 per cent and this resulted in a 150 per cent increase on people being caught over 2004 figures. Enemalta also reminded clients that theft of electricity means more charges for them, so they are encouraged to report any wrong-doing by calling, anonymously if need be, on 2298-0777.