Corruption in Electrical Engineering: Lessons from Indian History and the Ethics Engineers Cannot Ignore from Engineers Heaven's Idea / Prospect

Electrical engineering is not just another profession.

It controls:

• Power generation and distribution

• Public safety

• Industrial productivity

• Healthcare, transport, and communication

When corruption enters electrical engineering, the damage is not abstract.
It manifests as:

• Power failures

• Fires and accidents

• Equipment damage

• Financial losses

• Sometimes, loss of human life

This article is not about blaming individuals.
It is about understanding how corruption enters engineering systems, how history shows its consequences, and what ethical responsibility electrical engineers carry.

In engineering, corruption is not limited to bribes.

It includes:

• Compromising technical specifications

• Approving unsafe designs

• Using substandard materials

• Ignoring test results

• Signing documents without verification

• Allowing unsafe systems to operate

In electrical engineering, even small compromises can escalate into large failures.

India’s electrical infrastructure expanded rapidly after independence.
This scale created opportunity—but also vulnerability.

In many states, power distribution networks suffered due to:

• Inferior transformers

• Poor-quality conductors

• Improper earthing

• Overloaded systems

Often, failures were blamed on “technical losses,” while the real causes were:

• Procurement corruption

• Ignoring standards

• Cost-cutting at the expense of safety

The result:

• Frequent transformer burnouts

• High transmission and distribution losses

• Chronic outages

India has a long history of electrical fires in:

• Hospitals

• Cinemas

• Schools

• Government offices

Post-incident investigations often reveal:

• Overloaded circuits

• Non-compliant wiring

• Absence of protective devices

• Lack of maintenance

In many cases, engineers had:

• Approved unsafe designs

• Overlooked violations

• Accepted “temporary” arrangements as permanent

These are ethical failures—not technical ones.

Power theft is often discussed as a consumer issue.
But historically, it has also involved:

• Unauthorized connections

• Meter tampering

• Selective enforcement

When engineers ignore theft or participate indirectly, the system suffers:

• Increased losses

• Poor power quality

• Higher tariffs for honest consumers

Ethically, enabling theft is equivalent to damaging public infrastructure.

In several power plant and substation projects, historical audits have shown:

• Deviations from approved designs

• Inflated equipment ratings without justification

• Poor-quality installation practices

While paperwork often appeared clean, ground reality was different.

Corruption in such cases rarely looks dramatic.
It looks like silence, signatures, and compliance.

Electrical engineering systems are:

• Complex

• Invisible to the general public

• Understood by few

This creates an imbalance of power.

When only engineers understand the risks, engineers become the last ethical barrier.

If that barrier collapses, failures go unnoticed—until disaster occurs.