Electricity Theft

The criminal practice of stealing electrical power, a crime nearly as old as electricity distribution itself; an early documented case dates to March 1886, when unauthorized taps into Edison Electricity's New York lines were discovered and the utility responded by sending a power surge through the line to destroy the tapping equipment. Electricity theft is accomplished through methods ranging from simply hooking a cable directly onto a power line ahead of the meter, the most common method worldwide, to bypassing or physically obstructing the energy meter, or tampering with an electronic meter's circuitry to make it under-register consumption. It is most common in developing countries where power grids deliver inadequate and unreliable service, though one study found eighty percent of theft worldwide occurs in private dwellings rather than commercial or industrial premises. The practice imposes a significant global cost, estimated at ninety six billion dollars a year, and is classified by utilities as a non-technical loss; direct cable hooking in particular also carries a serious risk of electric shock or fire. Punishments where the crime is prosecuted include fines and incarceration.