Historic electricity theft discovered in eastern desert

AMMAN — The Jordanian Electric Power Company (JEPCO), the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) and a joint force of public security and Gendarmerie departments’ personnel have put an end to the “biggest electricity theft” in the history of the Kingdom, which included  installations worth JD300,000.

A JEPCO source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that a technical inspection showed that the theft, located in the Hallabat area, 120km east of Amman, included installing three-kilometre-long high voltage cables without receiving necessary licenses from the company.

The theft included illegal installing of invertors and connections , the source said, estimating the cost of such installations at more than JD300,000, not including the cost of the stolen electricity.

JEPCO’s employees are currently estimating the value of the stolen electricity in the location — which includes a farm and a factory — and of the equipment used for the connections, the source added, noting that the facility served by the installations extends over 1,000 dunums and includes large water pumps that operate on electricity.

During the raid, electric inverters were confiscated, and a suspect who was working on a power inverter was arrested, the source said, adding that the suspects involved in the case tried to stop the inspection team by blocking the road leading to the site. However, the source continued, the security force intervened and facilitated the job of the inspectors.

The case has now been referred to the concerned judicial authorities, the source said, stressing that JEPCO, EMRC and security forces are continuing their campaign to spot any illegal access to electricity and refer violators to court.

JEPCO called on subscribers to report any cases of power thefts or attacks on the power grid, stressing its keenness to present the best services in normal and emergency circumstances.