In domestic practice, no one is surprised by the theft of electricity, even in Soviet times, when the tariff was mere pennies, people still tried not to pay even what was charged by simple induction meters. With the advent of capitalism, electric utilities began to count every kilowatt and made incredible efforts to prevent the theft of electricity.
Due to the crackdown, unscrupulous consumers have lost the ability to directly bypass the security system, so they have found a loophole by connecting to their neighbors' networks. If you have any doubts about your neighbors stealing electricity, you should immediately check this fact for both your financial and electrical safety.
Methods for detecting electricity theft
Of course, as soon as it seems to you that your electricity bill is too high, you should not immediately accuse your neighbors of theft, since the reason for the incredibly high costs may not be the theft of electricity at all. Therefore, in order not to quarrel with the residents of your entrance, you should first understand the current situation in detail.
The most obvious signs that your electricity is being stolen are:
- The presence of third-party wires at your meter - the connection of the electric meter has an established circuit, and the number of wires supplied to it is determined by the specified circuit of the manufacturer. An example of such a connection is shown in the figure below:
Electric meter connection diagram
If, when examining your meter, you identify any third-party wires that fit in addition to the normal circuit, then this indicates that your neighbors are stealing electricity, taking it away from your meter. The direction of these additional conductors should then be found.
- Presence of load in the electrical network when electrical appliances are turned off. The problem with many houses with old wiring is that there are adjacent sockets, when neighbors can easily connect to the terminals of someone else's socket. If you disconnect the load from the sockets located on such walls adjacent to neighbors and check the load in the line approaching it, then the presence of electric current will indicate that the neighbors are stealing electricity.
Checking the current load
This method of theft is quite difficult to track down, unless you deliberately set such a goal, it can also be realized from distribution boxes, but this happens much less often.
- The presence of potential on heating radiators, taps or other structures that have a common ground. Such a problem actually does not in any way affect the readings of your meter, electricity thieves simply bypass their own electricity metering and you are in no way in danger of losing electricity. But you face the threat of electric shock from touching batteries or taps, so it’s also worth fighting against such manifestations.
- Wire tampering is popular in the private sector, but you can easily see if someone has illegally tapped into your line. Therefore, for those living in the private sector, it is important to be especially vigilant in order to protect themselves from cunning neighbors.
Throw on the line
- Inflating meter readings when all devices and loads in the network are turned off. If you have turned off everything that consumed electrical energy, and your meter continues to show electricity consumption, the fact of theft is obvious. This method of theft can be carried out by particularly experienced attackers who know how to hide connection points well, so you need to turn to highly qualified specialists for help.
To combat the above methods, no measures in the form of automatic electricity metering systems or meters with magnetic seals will help, since power will be taken directly from your line.
Please note, even if you have cleaned out the neighbors who are wasting electricity from you or from communal meters, you should not take any radical measures on your own. To deal with people who steal electricity, you need to contact the appropriate authorities.
✅ How do you know if electricity is being stolen?
The easiest way to suspect theft is by the sudden increase in electricity consumption. If, after an objective assessment of the situation, it is not possible to find a logical explanation for this (an additional energy-consuming household appliance was purchased, the computer began to work longer, there was a need to heat the apartment with a fan heater, etc.), then this gives reason to doubt the honesty of the neighbors. If the electricity meters are located in the stairwell, then manipulation of the wires is quite feasible. It is also possible to connect to the line through a through socket. In some cases, neighbors use “free” electricity by connecting to a common lighting line in the entrance - in such a situation, all residents have to pay for them (kilowatts, charged in excess of the readings of all apartment meters, are distributed). The costs are not as significant as when stealing from a specific consumer, however, you should not turn a blind eye to the violation.
Where to report electricity theft?
It should be noted that at that very moment, as soon as you managed to identify unscrupulous neighbors, you must first of all record the fact that they are stealing electricity. Of course, we should not forget that the neighbors may claim that this is not their fault, the connection was made by someone else, the previous owners, and they are not aware of any connections at all. Therefore, to resolve the situation with illegal electricity consumption, it is important to contact the electricity supply organization .
The procedure for bringing neighbors who steal electricity to clean water consists of the following actions on your part:
- Write an application to the power supply organization to conduct an extraordinary inspection or audit of your networks.
- Submit your application to the department that exercises control in your area, city or region (this can be done either independently or online).
- When the energy supply company arrives, ask them to check the electrical lines and wiring in your home. Most of them have special devices for identifying illegal connections, which are much more effective than the methods described above.
- Be sure to ask those who come to check the theft to draw up a report stating that their neighbors are stealing electricity, otherwise, without documentary evidence, you will not be able to prove anything.
Having received the act, you can safely go to court to determine guilt and get a decision about the neighbors who are stealing your electricity. But the verdict of law enforcement agencies for the identified violation may be different.
Arbitrage practice
Independent actions to resolve a conflict with a neighbor who steals electricity are also not recommended. The situation is guaranteed to be fraught with conflict.
Example. A Ukrainian who stole electricity shot his neighbors who confronted him about it. The man opened fire from a machine gun at the neighbors, who were compensated by tapping into the communal metering device. Previously, the criminal's access to electricity was blocked for a large debt for housing and communal services. As a result, several neighbors were injured. The culprit was not registered at a psychoneurological dispensary and did not have mental illnesses. The cause of the conflict was the use of electricity for personal purposes on a common house meter.
Therefore, it is necessary to involve specialized bodies and solve the problem within the legal framework. After drawing up the act, the document must be sent to Energonadzor.
Then ask for a recalculation of payments for electricity. This requirement can only be used if you pay for your electricity in full.
If the authorized body refuses to carry out recalculation, it is necessary to go to court.
Otherwise, if you cannot prove this fact in court, your neighbor will be able to recover an amount of moral damages from you.
Example. Citizen R. filed a lawsuit demanding compensation for moral damages from her neighbor. A man said at a meeting of owners that his neighbor was stealing his electricity. But when going to court, the fact was not proven. The woman demanded that a notice be printed for each resident of the entrance stating that she was not to blame. And also pay 10,000 rubles. as a compensation. The court satisfied her demands.
Let us assume that judicial practice on this issue is not isolated.
The theft of electricity in the Russian Federation is widespread. It doesn’t matter whether the neighbor connected to your meter or the common one. You bear the costs all the time. If a case of theft is revealed, everything must be formalized within the legal framework. Don't argue with your neighbor. Just describe the problem in the contact form on our website and the lawyer on duty will suggest a civilized way to resolve the conflict.
What is the legal threat to an electricity thief?
Today, neighbors who were caught stealing electricity will be subject not only to administrative penalties in the form of a fine, but also to criminal liability. Therefore, you should understand that the result of your appeal will be the imposition of penalties or even imprisonment for up to 2 years.
As Article 165 of the Criminal Code states, if the guilt of neighbors is proven in the amount of 250 thousand rubles, then the above punishment may be applied to them, together with the imposition of a large fine in the amount of six months’ income.
So, depending on the magnitude of the damage caused, the minimum fine or other measure of influence depends.
Underwater rocks
Various difficulties may arise during the process:
- Proving your neighbors' guilt is not always easy. If the neighbors hire a lawyer, he can stop the proceedings by proving, for example, that the seal was damaged by hooligans.
- A neighbor can eliminate traces of electricity theft, so it will not be possible to prove this fact. It is important to gather evidence in advance.
- Difficulties may arise with drawing up an application to the Criminal Code, energy sales, as well as the prosecutor's office and the court. Legal assistance may be required.
Accrual and amount of fine
According to the requirements established by Article 9.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, the amount of the minimum fine will directly depend on the form of ownership, because neighbors who steal electricity can do this not only for private purposes, but also to solve any commercial problems.
Thus, the accrued fine is distributed according to the following principle:
- ordinary citizens will have to pay from 1 to 2 thousand rubles. for stealing electricity;
- officials caught stealing electricity will have to pay from 2 to 4 thousand. rub.;
- entrepreneurs who do not organize their activities as a legal entity are subject to penalties of 2 to 4 thousand rubles. or restriction in activity for up to 90 days;
- legal entities in relation to whom you have recorded that they are stealing electricity will be forced to pay from 20 to 40 thousand rubles. or be subject to suspension of their activities for a period of 90 days.
In addition to the above penalties, neighbors who stole electricity may also pay a fine of 300 thousand rubles. for deception or abuse of your trust.
Nuances
Sometimes not everything can go quite smoothly and be resolved quickly. Particularly principled neighbors can hire a good lawyer, who can terminate the paperwork based on just one discrepancy. But he will need to prove that the damage to the seal was not carried out by the owner of the apartment, but by hooligans, or was violated by the electricians who carried out an investigation into the theft. Also, if you have an application from the Distribution Zone to change the meter, you can confirm the violation of the seal in order to replace it. Here the apartment owner can simply make a reservation, claiming that he did not manage to change the meter on time, did not find a repairman on time, etc.
Typical frequently asked questions from readers
The neutral wire coming from my electric meter turned out to be connected to the neutral wire coming from the neighbor's electric meter. Could it be that, under some circumstances, my neighbor's electricity meter will count the load consumed in my apartment?
It all depends on where the neutral conductors from two electricity meters are connected to one point.
Therefore, it is advisable to see the connection diagram of the connection you described, otherwise it is fortune telling on coffee grounds. If we assume that the connection point of two neutral conductors is located on the section from the apartment to the electricity meter, then theoretically, some models of old electricity meters will actually count the load differently. In this case, it is possible that part of the load current will flow through both your and the neighboring electric meter.
At the same time, the opposite situation , when a neighbor is consuming power and “part of his load may flow” through your electricity meter. This connection method is incorrect, so you can safely contact the management company with a request to remove the connection point. In modern electricity meters, the neutral conductor has little effect on the calculation for consumed electricity. Therefore, the readings of new electricity meters may not depend on the connection point you have identified.
If the neutral conductors are combined in the area behind the electricity metering devices to the common house panel (usually an ASU), then this is a normal connection method that in no way affects the result of electricity metering.
Can neighbors connect?
Expert opinion
Stanislav Evseev
Lawyer. Experience 12 years. Specialization: civil, family, inheritance law.
Having experience in working with electricity, neighbors can easily connect to your meter. In [current_date format='Y'] the situation is common when the owner moves the metering device to his apartment.
But in old (panel) houses, sockets were installed according to the through principle. Therefore, a neighbor can connect directly through his socket.
Thus, regardless of relations with neighbors, it is advisable to keep the issue of electricity metering under control.
Example . Irina and her husband bought an apartment in Khrushchev. The house was built in 1960. Many neighbors lived there for many years. Their neighbor across the wall was an elderly man whom everyone called Uncle Vitya. The man used to be an electrician at the housing office. But due to his age, he retired. In case of problems with electricity, the entire entrance turned to him. After 3 years, Uncle Vitya sold the apartment and moved out. Therefore, when problems with electricity arose, Irina called an electrician from the management company. The specialist examined the electrical panel and concluded that there was an illegal connection to the meter. Electricity consumption from the neighboring apartment was recorded on Irina’s meter.
Grounding check
The change of zero and phase can occur in another way. The phase is connected to zero, and the zero itself is disconnected and connected to ground. The counter stops ticking.
But this method is quite secretive, since sensing a check in the house, a thief can return zero to the meter by disconnecting it from the ground. Then the meter starts to move again and it’s difficult to check anything based on its readings.
Another thing is that the meter in an apartment building must have a seal, and if the seal is preserved, a thief will not be able to carry out such a fraud.
Grounding manipulations can be carried out in another way. Increasingly, professional electricians working with management companies are noticing electricity flowing through the battery riser.
The thief simply strips a small area of the battery so that no paint remains on the surface and connects the ground to the riser.
Such manipulations will not affect your meter in any way, but there is another way to check - checking the voltage on the battery. For this, a device or just an indicator screwdriver is enough. If there is voltage in the battery, and objects or the batteries themselves produce electric shock, you should immediately catch the thief.
To do this, talk to your neighbors on the floor above or below you. Ask to see the batteries - the cleaned area is immediately visible. You have the right to worry not only about your funds, but also about your safety - electrocution in such cases of theft is very common.
How to check if a neighbor is joining my meter
If the neighbor is an experienced electrical engineer, then he will not do such a stupid thing - connect to someone else's meter. Even with malicious intent - to steal electricity from the owner of this energy (not necessarily the state), an electrical engineer will find a bunch of ways to connect to the power grid of an entrance, house, or apartment. And also “cheat up” taking into account your electricity consumption - both on the site and in your apartment. There are options.
You can check if anyone has connected through your meter with the help of another electrician. It won't take much time. Also, in the evening hours, completely turn off all electricity consumption devices in your apartment - monitor your meter. The meter readings should not change.
Contacting the Management Company and recording the fact of theft
Already at the stage of calling a specialist, it is worth worrying about the issue of video or at least photographic recording.
Before doing this, submit an application to the management company or service organization (based on the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 442). Witnesses must be involved, because otherwise, the defendant will try to challenge the fact that an illegal connection has been identified. The motivation in such cases is quite simple: the electrician and the initiator of the inspection are scammers and conspired.
The following may be brought in as witnesses:
- Representatives of the service organization.
- Residents of other apartments.
- Chairman of the house, etc.
After verification, a corresponding act is drawn up. This act must be handed over to the district police officer. The district police officer will conduct an appropriate check and draw up a protocol (for now we are talking only about administrative responsibility).
