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As a result of systematic work of the security department of IDGC of Centre - Smolenskenergo division with law enforcement agencies for 2014 28 cases of theft of wires and power equipment were found and 23 criminal cases were filed. Also, there are examples of settlement of the conflict in the pre-investigation checks without criminal cases - the stolen equipment was returned to the branch.
The most "high-profile" cases in the Smolensk branch during this period were theft of wires of overhead lines in Demidovsky and Khislavichsky districts.
April 30, 2014 at the request of Chief of Khislavichsky Distribution Zone of Smolenskenergo under theft of aluminum wire A-25 from a 0.4 kV conductor in the village of Kanarschina a criminal case was opened. In the process of checking the police department identified perpetrators, who turned out to be locals - two brothers. According to the court decision for stealing each of them was sentenced to 1 year of probation and they had to return 540 meters of wire stolen to the Distribution Zone.
A similar incident occurred in August 2014 in Demidovsky district. According to Chief of Demidovsky Distribution Zone under theft of aluminum wire A-25 from a 0.4 kV conductor in the village of Zhelny a criminal case was opened. Materials were submitted to the court, which recognized the suspect guilty. The court decided to recover from the violator the damage caused in the amount of 10,987.77 rubles in favour of Smolenskenergo, and also to return the stolen 600-meter aluminum wire.
"Joint operations of power engineers and law enforcement agencies helped quickly identify the criminals. Currently, the stolen wire was returned the energy company, and the thieves were punished. We remind you that these illegal actions on the part of citizens could lead to failure of the company’s equipment. That is with their illegal actions criminals not only damage the energy company, but also endanger the uninterrupted power supply in homes of residents of the Smolensk region," clarified Acting Deputy Director for Security of IDGC of Centre - Smolenskenergo division Alexander Kalachev.
Smolenskenergo urges joint efforts to deal with unscrupulous consumers, to report suspected theft of electricity, suspicious persons in the vicinity of power facilities, or possible imminent unlawful actions to intentionally damage power facilities. To this end, the company operates the around the clock "straight phone line of power engineers" at 8-800-50-50-115 (call around the clock/free). You may also leave a message on the company's website at www.mrsk-1.ru or Customer Service Centres of the branch.