Uttar Pradesh power distribution companies have intensified efforts to fix responsibility for electricity theft and unusually high line losses across several feeders. Vigilance probes have been recommended against engineers associated with feeders where line losses have remained exceptionally high. In Prayagraj zone, the Mungari feeder under the Bhirpur substation recorded an 84.01% line loss during the financial year 2025-26, resulting in an estimated revenue loss of around ₹6.69 crore. The development has triggered concern among engineers, with their association warning of a possible protest over the proposed action.
The Mungari feeder has emerged as a key case in the department’s move to examine the role of officials posted in high-loss areas. The chief engineer of the Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam’s Prayagraj zone wrote to the managing director, highlighting the unusually high line loss and the resulting revenue loss. Departmental authorities, including the executive engineer and superintending engineer, have also recommended a vigilance probe into the matter.
According to the departmental communication, the Mungari feeder recorded a line loss of 84.01% in 2025-26. The estimated revenue loss during the period was around ₹6.69 crore. Such a high level of line loss has raised concerns about electricity theft and shortcomings in monitoring and distribution management. Based on these concerns, the department has recommended scrutiny of the roles of TG-2 employee Vijay Bahadur Pal, then junior engineer Akash Pandey and sub-divisional officer Alok Ranjan Gupta.
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The proposed action is reportedly not limited to the Mungari feeder. According to officials familiar with the process, several feeders across different distribution corporations have been identified where line losses are significantly higher than normal. Information recommending vigilance action against engineers associated with such feeders has been sent to the managing directors of the respective corporations.
The department is particularly examining the role of engineers who have remained posted at the same feeder or substation for extended periods. The proposed scrutiny is expected to examine electricity supplied to individual feeders, metering records, billing data, revenue collection and recorded line losses. Officials may also examine whether complaints related to electricity theft were acted upon and what preventive measures were reported by the concerned field staff.
The move, however, has drawn opposition from the engineers’ association. Neeraj Bind, president of the Uttar Pradesh Junior Engineers Association, has warned of an agitation over the recommendations for vigilance probes. He has questioned the basis on which the involvement of engineers is being presumed merely because a feeder has recorded high line losses.
The association has argued that responsibility for electricity theft and revenue losses should not automatically be attributed to junior-level personnel. It has demanded that the roles of senior officials, including chief engineers, should also be examined wherever such probes are ordered. According to the association, monitoring feeders, preventing electricity theft and reducing revenue losses involve responsibilities at several levels within the power distribution system.
The power corporations’ move comes as reducing electricity theft and bringing down technical and commercial losses remain major priorities for the department. Identification of high-loss feeders is being followed by efforts to determine the reasons behind the losses and establish whether there was negligence, inadequate monitoring or any other factor contributing to the situation.
The Mungari feeder case is now expected to be examined through departmental and vigilance-level scrutiny. The actual role of the officials named in the recommendation will depend on the evidence collected during the investigation. Records relating to electricity supply, billing, metering, revenue collection and feeder-level performance are likely to form a significant part of the inquiry.
With similar recommendations being considered for other high-loss feeders across Uttar Pradesh, more engineers could come under scrutiny in the coming days. The investigations will determine whether the unusually high losses were primarily linked to electricity theft, operational issues, inadequate monitoring or any other factors.
