Four people were taken to the police station, during Light’s operation against energy theft, in the municipalities of Rio de Janeiro and Nova Iguaçu, in Baixada Fluminense, this Thursday (25). In Cidade Nova, Central Region of Rio, company technicians identified irregularities in a restaurant, a beauty salon, a beverage warehouse and a construction material store. In Nova Iguaçu, fraud was detected in a supermarket. The operation had the support of the Civil Police and all irregularities were confirmed by the expertise of the Carlos Éboli Criminalistics Institute (ICCE).
Light carries out operation against energy theft in the capital and Baixada Fluminense
With the “cats”, the establishments, together, failed to register around 10,030 KWh/month, which is equivalent to approximately R$11,534 in energy bills, according to estimates from the distributor. The amount of stolen energy is enough to supply around 33 properties. Energy theft is a crime provided for in article 155 of the Penal Code, with a penalty of up to eight years in prison, and causes harm to the entire population.
In addition to being a crime, clandestine connections pose risks to the population, as they can lead to accidents and fires. Furthermore, this type of crime causes interruptions in the energy supply, due to overload on the electrical grid. In places with energy theft, Light’s transformers – configured and installed to serve the company’s customers in that area – are overloaded with the irregular demand for energy caused by illegal connections.
