Electricity thefts surge in bad times

[babylonsister]

Electricity thefts surge in bad times

By Paul Davidson, USA TODAY


As the dismal economy spawns desperate measures, some Americans are resorting to a hazardous practice: stealing electricity.

Many utilities say energy theft has risen sharply during the economic downturn. Culprits include residential customers whose power is turned off when they fall behind on their bills and small businesses struggling to keep their doors open.

They're using a wide array of tactics. Some run wires from utility lines directly into a circuit-breaker panel, bypassing the electric meter. Others attach cables on either side of a meter, swipe meters from vacant houses when theirs are removed or tamper with meters to lower their electric bills.

"We're finding more and more people are … stealing electricity because of the poor economy," says John Hammerberg, investigations supervisor for Tampa Electric in Florida.

American Electric Power has investigated 3,196 cases of theft in January and February, a 27% jump over the year-ago period, says AEP spokesman Pat Hemlepp. The company serves Rust Belt states hit hard by layoffs, such as Michigan, Indiana and Ohio.

In Philadelphia, of 14,000 customers whose service was turned off in early 2008, 30% were illegally using electricity late last year, utility PECO says.

more...

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2009-03-16-electricity-thefts_N.htm

[MadHound]

1. Frankly, it is neither hard nor particularly dangerous thing to do

Hell, if you know what you're doing and take the proper precaution you don't need to switch out a meter, a couple of table knives will do, and are a lot less obvious.

Yes, I had a poor, and sometimes misspent youth:P