As explained in a previous UKCSC Grow your own weed for £ 4.20 a week, growing weed at home doesn’t require massive amounts of energy. However for larger grows, possibly using 1kw lights, the cost of electricity will add up. Unfortunately, in the UK at least, criminal gangs attempt to bypass electricity meters with the hope of remaining unseen by the electricity supplier.
According the UKRPA, (United Kingdom Revenue Protection Association), it is very hard to determine exactly how much electricity is stolen each year, however what we do know is that tens of thousands of theft situations are detected annually and from that they estimate the financial burden on the public to be well in excess of £100M per year.
Big money… Money that power companies don’t take for chance.
In fact £100m is such a large amount of money that they employ teams of people to actively hunt for energy thieves, it is a full time job and they are successful a lot of the time.
So, you were thinking about tampering with that meter?
”Abstracting Electricity, contrary to section 13 of the Theft Act, 1968. A person who dishonestly uses without due authority or dishonestly causes to be wasted or diverted any electricity on conviction or indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.”
It is common belief that there are ways to tamper with your meter effectively switching it off to get free electricity. However, in reality this is not true.
Energy companies are able to monitor and meter the supply of electricity to your local area, specifically to the nearest substation.
When an electrical supply is altered, or the monitor tampered with, over time a power deficit will occur. At this point the power company will become pro-active in finding the reason for the shortfall.
Other methods may include, following up old properties who are no longer paying any electricity rates or those with regular electrical usage regimes and high power consumption.
What this boils down to is being a good citizen and not being dishonest or a criminal. If you were an industrial size indoor tomato grower you would follow the same rules.
i.) Pay your electricity, all of it.
ii.) Pay for your electricity on time.
iii.) Don’t tamper with your meter. Or remove the main fuse without permission from the electricity supplier.
iiii.) Don’t give anybody a reason to be suspicious.
Lastly folks, don’t give the media a chance or a reason to tar all cannabis consumers with the proverbial brush!
Yours,
The Sensible Cannabis Consumer
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