‘22,789 electricity theft cases registered in 2017’

AMMAN — Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) has announced the detection of 22,789 electricity theft cases during the past year, through 300,487 inspections, according to an commission statement on Tuesday.

EMRC Chairman Farouq Hiyari said that inspections carried out in cooperation with electricity distribution companies, Public Security Department and Gendarmerie uncovered 11,108 cases.

According to Hiyari the number of violations uncovered by the law enforcement unit at the commission was 7,614 in the areas supplied by the Jordan Electric Power Co (JEPCO); 1,078 in the areas supplied by the Electricity Distribution Co (EDCO) and the remaining 2,416 under Irbid District Electricity Company (IDECO).

The number of cases registered at the courts in 2017 was 4435, of which 2350 cases were filed by JEPCO, 1784 cases filed by IDECO and 301 cases filed by EDCO, Hiyari said.

According to Hiyari, the number of cases in which court verdicts were issued last year stood at 2772. 

A total of 1,956 cases were registered in January of this year, Hiyari said. 

In the statement, Hiyari stressed that the commission continues to exercise its supervisory role in matters related to electricity and activate the law enforcing powers on the performance of electricity distribution companies in the country.