Many people illegally tapped into the neighborhood connection, betting that the authorities were too slow, or too corrupt, to stop them. The resulting cobweb of power lines helped push the capital's electric company more than $3 billion in debt in 2002.

That year, subsidiaries of Reliance ADA Group and Tata Group, two of India's most powerful conglomerates, entered a partnership with the government to distribute power in the capital and halt the losses. Reliance and Tata had impressive track records in Mumbai, the country's largest city, where power distribution losses are among the lowest in the country.

Through dozens of power raids every week, among other strategies, they have managed to dramatically reduce theft in Delhi. BSES, the Reliance subsidiary that handles two-thirds of Delhi's power, has sent more than 650 people to prison and booked more than 114,000 cases in special courts that handle only electricity cases. By the end of last year, BSES, where Seth works, had cut theft from around 52 percent in 2002 to 28 percent. Seth's bosses want to bring that down to 10 percent.

Before dawn on a recent Saturday, Seth corralled his men to review details for the three raids planned for the morning. When his crew was ready, Seth hopped into a white van, part of a large convoy, and headed for the first target.

Inside the windowless plastics factory, an enormous, clanging machine belched smoke as it spat out sheets of black plastic so cheap it turned to powder in your hand. Two scrawny men sat on the floor folding the plastic while a third slept in the corner.

A team of engineers checked the electric meters and inspected a cable sticking up from the ground while others headed to the attic to investigate suspicious wires hanging from the roof.

Outside, a police officer took off his shoes to nap inside a van while Seth spoke urgently into his cell phone. The sun was beginning to rise.

Nearly two hours after the raid at the plastics factory began, the technicians walked outside shaking their head. They couldn't prove that the factory was stealing power.

After signing sheets of paperwork, Seth climbed back into the white van, not entirely convinced the factory owner wasn't stealing. "We have to give him a clean chit," he sighed. "We didn't find anything. The conclusion is we don't know."

He closed the car door and told the driver to turn around. They had another address to raid.

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