The Civil Police carried out 42 operations to combat energy theft in the Greater São Paulo region in February this year. The procedures were carried out in conjunction with Enel, an energy distribution company in that location, and resulted in 38 arrests and 4 indictments.
The cities that received the company's inspections were: São Paulo (26), São Bernardo do Campo (4), Barueri (3), Santana de Parnaíba (2), Embu-Guaçu (2), and São Caetano do Sul (1 ), Diadema (1), Cajamar (1), Osasco (1) and Jandira (1).
Among the neighborhoods with the highest incidence of fraud, Jabaquara, Alto da Mooca and Tatuapé stood out, all in the capital of São Paulo, in addition to Jardim California, in Barueri.
Among the establishments that were targeted by the actions, 74% were commercial, 19% industrial and 7% residential. Responsible for inspection of losses at Enel, Tiago Barbosa highlighted that two thirds of police operatives concentrated their efforts in upscale and upper middle class neighborhoods. According to him, the police identify the origin of fraud through specific investigative equipment and anonymous complaints.
“The load installed in these locations is much larger, more powerful than in peripheral regions, which is why they attract attention. The type of fraud is much more sophisticated and more difficult to identify.”
Energy theft is a crime, it directly affects the quality of service provided by distributors and puts the population at risk, especially people who manipulate the electricity grid. Irregular connections can cause short circuits and overloads in the electrical network, causing interruptions in the power supply.
According to Tiago, the “cats” also harm free competition, in addition to delaying public coffers.
“They trigger an illegal disadvantage with competition, in addition to failing to collect taxes of around 30%. Of every 100 reais, 30 are in energy taxes.”
*Under the supervision of André Rigue
Source: CNN Brasil
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