By JT – May 13,2017

AMMAN — A total of 8,554 electricity thefts have been detected between the beginning of the year and the end of April, 4,096 of which have been discovered by the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC), according to its chief commissioner.

The cases detected by EMRC in the January-April period constituted around 47 per cent of the total cases detected by the commission, the Public Security Department (PSD), the Gendarmerie Department and the Kingdom’s three electricity distribution companies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted EMRC chief Farouq Hiyari as saying on Saturday.

In the first four months of 2017, the PSD and the Gendarmerie Department together dealt with 841 thefts, while the electricity distribution companies discovered 3,617 cases, he noted.

Hiyari added that 1,494 of the total cases reported in the first third of the year are being or have been seen by courts, which have already ruled on 810 of them, Petra reported.

If convicted, those inducted for electricity theft face imprisonment from six months to two years or a fine no less than JD2,000, and no more than JD10,000.

http://www.jordantimes.com/news/local/more-8500-electricity-theft-cases-reported-4-months