Calcutta, Oct. 21 :     CESC Ltd, in coordination with the Calcutta Police and local authorities, has declared war on power theft. According to rough estimates, the RPG group company loses about 350 million units of power per year due to power theft. This forms a significant chunk of its total transmission and distribution (T&D) loss. Ultimately this takes a toll of the consumer who ends up having to pay an inflated per unit cost of power to make up for the T&D loss. CESC has set up a loss control cell (LCC) to monitor the extent of power theft and to keep a check on the recurrent problem of some consumers tapping power illegally. The LCC was able to successfully control theft by Puja pandals this festive season. Of the 472 pandals jointly inspected by the Calcutta Police, CESC and the fire department , 266 were found to be stealing power. These pandals were immediately disconnected and a first information report (FIR) filed against the Puja Committees. ?Power theft during the Pujas is just the tip of the iceberg. The actual extent is appalling. Even industrial consumers and big commercial consumers resort to power theft. CESC is seeking more vigorous support from law enforcing authorities. We are trying to rope in local cooperatives and MLAs to keep people from stealing power. CESC has installed static electronic meters at the premises of high-consumption consumers which ensure that there are tell-tale signs if the meter is tampered,?said a source. Of the five efficiency norms on distribution and generation laid down by the state government, the company has done well in four?heat rate, oil rate, auxiliary consumption and coal transit loss. However, it continues to struggle with pilferage which contributes to the T&D loss, which though high, is still much lower than the national average. Last year, as part of its special vigilance drive, 73,000 meters were checked, 1,800 consumers disconnected and 65,000 unauthorised fittings removed. It also filed 108 FIRs but not many have been prosecuted.