More than 200 business power users face massive fines after they were caught stealing electricity this summer amid the supply shortfall, the Shanghai Electric Power Co announced yesterday.
The 239 business users, most of whom are involved in the catering and entertainment industries, allegedly stole power worth 1.5 million yuan (US$180,723) over the past six months.
Any company found guilty of power theft will face fines of three times the electricity fees they tried to avoid, according to the regulations.
"The power theft not only endangered sufficient supply but also safe grid operations," said Huang Jun, director of the company's power safety division, who is in charge of dealing with power theft in the city.
The power suppliers launched a month-long crackdown targeting power theft in the service sector in July, when supply began to fall short of demand due to high temperatures.
More than 1,200 power workers were sent around the city and 14,800 power users suspected of stealing electricity were checked. The company's hot line also heard about 60 tips from the public each day during the crackdown, three times the usual number.
One of the biggest power thieves in Baoshan District is now accused of stealing electricity for an entire year. Authorities say the eatery avoided paying up to 500,000 yuan in power fees.
Power officials expected a shortage of up to 4 million kilowatts this summer and adopted power control measures to fight the supply shortfall.