Hotline of power engineering specialists:
Four points of collection of scrap of ferrous and non-ferrous metals in the city of Rzhev in the Tver region were visited by specialists of IDGC of Centre - Tverenergo division and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Tver region within the framework of a joint raid. The event was held as part of an agreement on interaction of the power grid company and the police.
In 2017, in the Tver region 52 crimes were committed involving the theft of electric grid equipment in the amount of 2 761 071 rubles. These are the facts of stealing wires of overhead lines, dismantling and theft of transformers and generators at substations. Since the beginning of this year, 5 cases of theft of electric grid equipment for a total of 103,305 rubles have been committed.
"Last year in Rameshkovsky district crimes related to the theft of power equipment were systematically committed. During the investigation, it was established that a group of persons operating in the district had committed acts of theft and vandalism at electric grid facilities with the purpose of gaining money in the district," said Denis Danilov, deputy director of security at IDGC of Centre - Tverenergo division. "At the end of 2017, a criminal case on charging a group of persons of 10 crimes under Articles 158 and 215.2 of the Criminal Code was sent to the court, and in February 2018 the accused were found guilty."
The raid in Rzhev was conducted with the aim of preventing theft of power equipment belonging to the power grid company. Participants of the on-site inspection conducted checks of points, examination of scrap, which is given by local residents. In the course of the raid, there were no electric grid components or electrical parts that were often of interest to offenders.
The power engineers also explained that black and non-ferrous metal related to electrical installations can by law be accepted only from official representatives of the power grid company. Otherwise, buying scrap of power equipment from a private person can be qualified as an offense under Article 175 of the Criminal Code "Acquisition or sale of property that is known to have been obtained through criminal means". The maximum penalty under this article is from two to seven years of imprisonment. With the consent of the administration of the points of collection of scrap metal, the power engineers posted warning signs about the inadmissibility of theft of energy equipment and responsibility for such crimes.
IDGC of Centre - Tverenergo division reminds: if you witness suspicious activities near power lines, substations, transformers, or notice that people are not in uniform at power facilities, report this to the straight line of power engineers: 8-800-50 -50-115. Interference in the operation of a power line or transformer substation is deadly. In addition, theft and damage of power equipment can lead to de-energizing of thousands of consumers!
