Thou shall not steal .... except when electriciity is involved

I doubt that abstraction in the UK is yet on the scale seen in South Africa  but it seems to be increasing. I have found a few cases and am regularly asked how to do it.

Not far from me there is a group of general purpose malcontents who are actively encouraging abstraction. A worrying number of locals seem to regard them as "heroes, helping out struggling families" and not as criminals.

And I have met a few people, mainly older people, who seem unclear as to the difference between legitimate energy saving, and abstraction.

In addition to the well known techniques of tampering with the meter or the meter tails, a growing problem is gangs who dig up the road and live joint a new service cable which is terminated in the premises to a standard type of cut out and meter. Because the meter is a fleabay special it is on no database, and never read, so no bill is ever rendered for the illegal second service. This is more applicable to small and dodgy businesses than to households.

Many older business premises have more than one meter, often in different locations and read by different suppliers.

I have also found many cases of what might be called "inadvertent abstraction" in which electricity has been obtained without payment, but without any question of personal gain.

One case was a block of flats with a meter for each flat, and also another meter for the lighting of the common parts. The common parts meter was in a locked cupboard and had never been read since the building of the flats DECADES before.

Another case was an external illuminated sign connected to a street light mounted on the front of the same building. A large and reputable company, with no question of personal gain. It was probably done like that to save time and materials.

I doubt that abstraction in the UK is yet on the scale seen in South Africa  but it seems to be increasing. I have found a few cases and am regularly asked how to do it.

Not far from me there is a group of general purpose malcontents who are actively encouraging abstraction. A worrying number of locals seem to regard them as "heroes, helping out struggling families" and not as criminals.

And I have met a few people, mainly older people, who seem unclear as to the difference between legitimate energy saving, and abstraction.

In addition to the well known techniques of tampering with the meter or the meter tails, a growing problem is gangs who dig up the road and live joint a new service cable which is terminated in the premises to a standard type of cut out and meter. Because the meter is a fleabay special it is on no database, and never read, so no bill is ever rendered for the illegal second service. This is more applicable to small and dodgy businesses than to households.

Many older business premises have more than one meter, often in different locations and read by different suppliers.

I have also found many cases of what might be called "inadvertent abstraction" in which electricity has been obtained without payment, but without any question of personal gain.

One case was a block of flats with a meter for each flat, and also another meter for the lighting of the common parts. The common parts meter was in a locked cupboard and had never been read since the building of the flats DECADES before.

Another case was an external illuminated sign connected to a street light mounted on the front of the same building. A large and reputable company, with no question of personal gain. It was probably done like that to save time and materials.