Hotline of power engineering specialists:
During raids and checks of electricity metering systems of consumers, specialists from IDGC of Centre - Belgorodenergo division from January to April of this year identified and suppressed 196 facts of illegal consumption of electricity with a total volume of about 2.5 million kWh. Individuals are leading by the number of violations, and in terms of volumes - legal entities.
Power engineers regularly conduct raids as the most effective way to combat theft of electricity. Particular attention is paid to working with consumers who have already been convicted of illegal energy consumption.
In the course of the last inspection conducted in Novooskolsky district of the Belgorod region in conjunction with representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the administration and the media, the power engineers uncovered a fact of non-metered electricity consumption in a fruit tree nursery of the village of Nemtsevo.
The sharp decrease in energy consumption, observed here recently, has caused suspicion of experts of the electric power metering department of Novooskolsky Distribution Zone. In the presence of the owner’s representative, the electricians checked the meter readings under load and without, having found out in the end the fact of interference in the operation of the electricity meter. The device was immediately removed from the register, and the offender’s reading was recalculated by the consumed electricity, based on the maximum power consumption, multiplied by the business hours of the enterprise.
The owner of the nursery pleaded guilty and agreed to voluntarily compensate the damage caused to the company. Otherwise, the power engineers would have been forced to apply to the court for compensation of costs, and the offender, in addition to damages, would have compensated for legal costs.
"We constantly fight with theft and losses," says the deputy chief for sale of services of Novooskolsky Distribution Zone Alexander Zakharov. "Unscrupulous consumers use different methods of theft: they interfere with the work of meters, make connections to wires, arrange hidden wiring. However, as soon as we find a leak, we immediately conduct raids at particularly questionable facilities. It’s bad that not all consumers understand yet: the responsibility still cannot be avoided and the imaginary economy will result in multiple fines. It is cheaper and calmer to install energy-saving equipment and pay fairly honestly for the electricity consumed."
IDGC of Centre - Belgorodenergo division reminds that that the legislation provides for a strict punishment for energy thieves. In case of detection of theft of electricity, the violator not only compensates for the damage to the power grid company, but is also brought to criminal or administrative responsibility with payment of a fine. It should be noted that since 1 January 2016, Russia has tightened administrative responsibility for unauthorized connection to grids and use of electricity, as well as violation of the rules for the use of electricity and rules for the construction and operation of energy-consuming plants. In particular, the amount of fines for unauthorized connection and use of electricity has been increased.
Bona fide consumers, who regularly pay bills for electricity, suffer greatly from criminal acts of violators: because of thefts, there are voltage fluctuations in the grid, household appliances are out of order, the probability of failures, fires and accidents increases.
Reports on theft of electricity and equipment around the clock are taken by calling the direct line of IDGC of Centre at 8-800-50-50-115 or 13-50.
