Electricity theft is a violation of the law and may result in criminal prosecution.

Electricity theft is the act of illegally taking electricity without going through the meter or affecting the meter to distort the measurement index and other electrical equipment related to electricity measurement, which is strictly prohibited in the Electricity Law.

Electricity theft is a very dangerous act that can cause fatal accidents due to unsafe use of electricity. Electricity theft is severely punished. In case of electricity theft with an output value of 2,000,000 VND or more, the case will be transferred to criminal prosecution. In addition, violators must also be responsible for remedying the consequences and have all evidence and means of violation confiscated, as specifically stipulated by the Government in Clause 15, Article 2, Decree No. 17/2022/ND-CP, dated January 31, 2022 (amended Article 12, Decree No. 134/2013/ND-CP).

Fines for electricity theft in any form are as follows:

a) A fine of between VND 4,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for electricity theft with the value of stolen electricity output being less than VND 1,000,000;

b) A fine of between VND 10,000,000 and VND 20,000,000 shall be imposed for electricity theft with the value of stolen electricity output from VND 1,000,000 to less than VND 2,000,000.

When detecting an act of electricity theft with the value of stolen electricity output from VND 2,000,000 or more, the competent person handling the case must transfer the case file to the competent criminal prosecution agency to prosecute criminal liability according to the provisions of Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 4, Article 62 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations. In case the criminal prosecution agency issues one of the following decisions: not to initiate a criminal case, a decision to cancel the decision to initiate a criminal case, a decision to suspend the investigation, a decision to suspend the case, a decision to suspend the case against the accused, or exemption from criminal liability according to the verdict, if the act shows signs of an administrative violation, the case file must be transferred to the competent person to handle administrative violations according to the provisions of Clause 3, Article 62, Article 63 of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations to handle administrative violations according to the fine level prescribed in Point b, Clause 8 of this Article.

In case customers discover that organizations or individuals are offering to sell electricity-saving devices of unknown origin, tools and equipment for the purpose of stealing electricity or committing acts of electricity theft, please contact the Customer Care Center (TTCSKH) of Southern Power Corporation at phone numbers 19001006 and 19009000 for instructions.

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