stealth and the power company

[the gnome]

If power companies were pro-actively busting growers who pay their bills, indoor growing never would have taken off the way it has.

exactly
Ive never understood the elec co paranoia.
they're in in biz to make money.
and even thought they will not say it I will
they LOVE US GROWERS with LOTS BIG BIG HID BULBS using obscene loads of ELECTRICITY.
don't pay your bill and they have to take a look at you and send you a pay up letter.
keep on being late etc etc and the more they will be looking at you.
Exactly what you don't want attention.... simple.

and stealing elec as said above is the main reason.
it's so stoopid to do that.
and the people doing this are probably thinking running a gro will be noticed by the power co.

they notice a loss of MONEY!
after a certain point of leakage,
electricity loss cannot and is not ignored with action sure to follow. just like the water co.
and it's very easy to locate.
it's a simple matter of deduction.
it may take a few months but it is a certainty they will locate the loss in an area down to your house,

that brings unwanted attention on all of us.
the local law doggies posted in in the paper they types of pot grows they worked, out doors was a big one
gro house busts were if any, 1 per county.

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

Thanks for your post.

I personally do not believe the power company can collect data on a residence any faster than 1/min. My local power company (PGE) does collect 1/min on all residential customers. I can go online and inspect my usage. I called and asked what they do with this and when it gets deleted. I was told it will not be deleted because the power company wants the data to save everyone even more money.

 

[dybert]

Until I recently took down my grow... I received a friendly letter from my power company., every single month, for the last 5 years.

It simply stated that out of 100 surveyed homes, I was #100, the highest consumer of power. I used something like 6500% more than the average person in the neighborhood. I never once had any issues with the power company.

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

I got to read the recent police stats report in my local area. When it came to grow house busts 9 out of 10 or 90% of the time the police were tipped off by the electric company for loss of electrical transmission. When the police went to investigate the stolen power they happened to find a grow house every time.

So to answer your question "What does the electric company look for?"
Answer: They look for loss of electrical transmission.

Awesome... I agree if you are trying to be stealthy, do not steal power.

I'd probably include "or steal wifi, cable, etc."

 

[Jhhnn]

Awesome... I agree if you are trying to be stealthy, do not steal power.

I'd probably include "or steal wifi, cable, etc."

Observe all the usual precautions- total odor & light control, take care of the yard, schmooze the neighbors, don't let your dog bark, keep traffic to a minimum, don't advertise. Hell, I do all that with a perfectly legal grow. Double down on it if you're doing anything sketchy. If you are, have a lawyer on retainer with access to an escrow account for bail money. If you can't make bail, you're lower than whale shit in the legal system.

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

Hell, I do all that with a perfectly legal grow.

Exactly. I am not doing anything illegal.

Suppose the power company is simply collecting data and following-up when they find high (lol) uses. Suppose a cracked out clerk is persuaded to give their not-employable spouse the list of customers. Then the spouse visits when no one is home and then helps themselves to your hard work.

 

[mowood3479]

Well, if ur gonna go down that rabbit hole... I guess u could run ur grow off a gen so as not to tip off any unscrupulous power company employees with unemployed home invading spouses

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

Well, if ur gonna go down that rabbit hole... I guess u could run ur grow off a gen so as not to tip off any unscrupulous power company employees with unemployed home invading spouses

Hmm. The idea is not to attract attention. I think running a generator 24x7 (or 12x7) does the opposite.

Your post gave me an idea. Suppose you get 8 car batteries and a battery charger. When the grow turns on, it is connected to the batteries and not connected to the grid, so the power company sees nothing. Periodically put a battery on a charger. The power sees company sees the charger as a load, but one that looks drastically different than grow lights. At some point, switch over to grid power. Toward the end of the growing day, off the grid and back on batteries. Lights out, charge all the growing night if necessary. The effect is that the power company no longer sees the characteristic timing of grow lights.

 

[JKD]

In order of risk:

Stealing power - They can and do identify theft and locate its occurrence.
Blowing pole fuses. Once might be a faulty fuse or fair wear and tear. More than once they will want to investigate why.

Electricity draw far exceeding the average for your block/neighborhood. (Average use is higher the more affluent an area is).
All your usage in off peak hours. (Night). Normally there are two peaks -one in the AM when most people get up, and one in the PM when most people are getting home from work, with high usage in between when most businesses and schools are open. If you are running lights off-peak to save money or because its cooler you could possibly draw attention to yourself.

Really just the first two.

@ Dybert - This is consistent with what I have found; high usage gets a letter or phone call, a cheaper rate and sometimes some tips on reducing usage or cost (they will actually tell you to run things at night where possible). I shit my pants when they first called me but found it was nothing to worry about. For OldGuyInOregon the fact you get the call is proof that they can and do identify high electricity users.

JKD

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

In order of risk: Stealing power - They can and do identify theft and locate its occurrence. Blowing pole fuses. Once might be a faulty fuse or fair wear and tear. More than once they will want to investigate why. Electricity draw far exceeding the average for your block/neighborhood. (Average use is higher the more affluent an area is). All your usage in off peak hours. (Night). Normally there are two peaks -one in the AM when most people get up, and one in the PM when most people are getting home from work, with high usage in between when most businesses and schools are open. If you are running lights off-peak to save money or because its cooler you could possibly draw attention to yourself. Really just the first two. @ Dybert - This is consistent with what I have found; high usage gets a letter or phone call, a cheaper rate and sometimes some tips on reducing usage or cost (they will actually tell you to run things at night where possible). I shit my pants when they first called me but found it was nothing to worry about. For OldGuyInOregon the fact you get the call is proof that they can and do identify high electricity users.
JKD

Awesome input! Stealing power is dumb so it is not stealthy. You identified two behaviors to avoid: heavy off-peak loads, and loads that damage power company equipment.

The power company is already looking for us (i.e. high users). I guarantee when pot-growing moves their dial, they will publicize the fact.

Zen of Stealth

Don't worry about stealth. Be stealth.

 

[floralheart]

Worry about the cable company more than the power company. The cable company came out for a 2,000 watt grow. I imagine the power company wouldn't come looking unless you weren't paying, or were running over 5,000-8,000 watts.

The cable company came to see me over 1 unshielded ballast that started acting up after a lightening strike.

They have the equipment to see your 1,000 watt hps lights. They can disrupt cable on demand services. (the lights)

 

[floralheart]

Folks, if you want to post, please stay on point. The subject of the OP is NOT "Would the power company...", "What law enforcement...", or "Do I have to worry"? If that is your input, thanks and take it somewhere else!


The subject is "If the power company wants to detect people growing pot, what would they look for"?


Answers might be, high use, periodic use, etc.


NOT "Don't worry", "They won't", or "They can't". Besides the fact these answers are off point, they are not correct, because you people have no idea what a power company will or won't do. You folks sound kind of silly speculating as if you do know.

things on timers... scheduled usages

i think it's obvious if someone's manufacturing, if everyday power is shutting on and off on timers. everyone else is running 2k watts, and you're running a total of 10k on timers.

 

[OldGuyInOregon]

Worry about the cable company more than the power company. The cable company came out for a 2,000 watt grow. I imagine the power company wouldn't come looking unless you weren't paying, or were running over 5,000-8,000 watts. The cable company came to see me over 1 unshielded ballast that started acting up after a lightening strike. They have the equipment to see your 1,000 watt hps lights. They can disrupt cable on demand services. (the lights)

Howdy floralheart! If a ballast, lamp, fan, power supply, etc. introduces a back emf during switching, or perhaps some noise during normal operation, I imagine that cable company equipment might be effected. That covers cable/internet/phone service. I think the best defense here is pretty cheap: always plug your lights into surge protectors (not the wall or cheap power strips). I think this is better for your lamps and other equipment, provides a common ground, and reduces back emf and noise.

I believe not just the cable company, but anyone sufficiently interested, can find grow lights once they know to look, by using IR.