busted by power usage

[Neo 420]

In cali its rare if the power companies snitch you out, but if LEO asks them what is someone specific power draw, they will tell em. I have heard of other states straight snitch out growers with the obvious huge power draws and off and on cycles...

 

[GuyManDude]

ok, what if the power company is a municipal power company, i.e. owned by the city - not a private company? would that be more likely to risky?

 

[mowood3479]

I love how the power company in my area tries to sell smart meters to the general public by telling them it will help them regulate their consumption n save $... I said fuck you and no thanks.. I can tell how much I use by how much I use.. wtf? u turn on an electrical appliance n it costs $ depending on the draw... why would anyone need help with that?
it blows me away how much bullshit the general public swalllows...
around my way i dont know anyone pushin more than 10 to 12 lights on the grid (1k bill)

 

[veek]

its this thread again...

 

[ninfan77]

Electric companies do train their customer reps to look for high usage, and signs of grow houses etc. They do focus on electric theft, but also a number of other factors. I know this first hand... the training is usually 1-2x a year.

They typically will send a tech out to verify why there is such high usage, typically a look around the house, possibly a knock/talk from the tech to ask questions like, do you have a hot tub, high energy device etc. They offer to help you lower costs etc.

They are trained to look for theft, as this is their #1 concern, especially rural areas.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

Ok, to help quell some nerves here you should have no problem in any state of the country running 4k in a house. Over 4k watt in a residence is reckless imo and I personally think you should be in a warehouse or business with that type of juice. This guy was in a rural town in a rural setting drawing too much juice from and old line that could not handle it. If you stay in the city where the infrastructure HAS to be new to handle the loads, pay your bill on-time, and keep warehouse level grows in warehouses you should never have a problem. In my opinion gone are the days where you could throw up 8k-30k watt grows in friggin houses; big deal do what you should be doing and have one of thousands of possible front businesses that draw electricity that you can also use to clean your money. From computer server, data security and storage, welding, to heat treating, to knife making, to iron working, to steel working, to glass blowing, to fuckin pottery there is so much you can do and a lot of it requires little equipment.

If this guy had had a HOME on the property and front business this would have NEVER happened. They would have had to get a warrant and had nothing else to base it on. How hard is it to buy a couple of used workshop machines and open one of the above or many other power consuming businesses? You have to know like ninfan said that these guys number one priority is preventing stealing power so they look for things. Granite this case had nothing to do with stealing power, but he also was not going about his business intelligently.


Don't freak out, don't get paranoid, and work smart.

 

[Gardens Keeper]

P.S. one of the biggest issues was the fact the cops verbally thanked the power company for "being good citizens", lol. They said they, "would have never discovered it if not for the good citizens at the electric company". This invoked a firestorm of animosity towards the power company. I honestly do not think they want anymore press at all. If I had to move from the west coast back to the east coast in South Carolina for whatever reasons I would have no problem growing again. I never had issues nor did many people I knew who weren't playing stupid. This guy getting busted was not why I moved out of state, so don't get your self in a frenzy over it it is safe to do house grows just not warehouse grows in houses.

 

[username474]

I was. Peace GS

Can you give us any details? How many lights were you useing? Ty

 

[332359]

I've had the electrical company call me because they said a lot of electricity was being used. I told them I don't think I'm having problems but they still wanted to come check my meter. I was pretty scared that something was going to happen but the Guy came and I let him in the basement and I had everything shut off upstairs. He pulled the meter out of the wall and put it back in and looked around. He said he thought someone could be stealing my power but it didn't look like it. Then he left. I grew there for a few more years and nothing happened.

I was pretty good at not paying bills ontime and they would shut my power off. No problems ever came to me from not paying bills. Was only running 4,000 Watts though.

 

[joe schmo]

Thanks for all the replies to pretty much confirm my hunch on this... i've run a 10k in a non med state with no worries for years, being in a populated city... this whole thing just had me curious cause i'm tempting to double up 1 time then move out... the responses are encouraging...

 

[GMax]

i have been getting flyers from my electric company offering me a lower kwh if i sign a 2yr contract ...anyone familiar with these?

hope that not too off topic

 

[johnnybravo]

its this thread again...

 

[supermanlives]

fuck em . my bill is way higher than my neighbors. and so aint i.