Shock ahead for electricity thieves By: Andrew Bushe

JUICE JACKERS who are stealing up to #5million worth of electricity a year are in for a shock. They may find their scams are a short-circuit to a courtroom as the ESB launches a new crackdown. Electricity theft has more than doubled from #2million a year, five years ago, despite the fact that it is a criminal offence that carries a fine of up to #50,000 and/or three years in jail.

The ESBs "power police"  inspectors from the revenue protection division - plan to carry out 25,000 visits nationwide this year and expect that 10-12% of the calls will result in action involving discrepancies in supply.

"When people steal power, the theft affects everybody because the cost of power is shared among all our consumers," said and ESB spokesperson.

"But our biggest concern is safety. People who steal power always engage in unsafe practices and some of them are hair-raising."

The scams usually involve breaking into meters or taking a diversion directly off a supply line.

"What happens is that people jump past fuse boxes or circuit breakers which means there is no safety element built into the supply system for the consumer," the spokesperson warned.

http://www.irelandonsunday.com/current/news/article.tmpl$showpage?ps=318053452816232

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 15, 2000

Answers

'Juice Jackers' Great way to put it.

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), October 15, 2000.