just because they are bad people doesnt mean you should steal off them, or anyone for that matter....two wrongs doesnt make a right
There are so many way the POCO can find out if your stealing electricity. This is the most accurate way. Each transformer has a meter and is on a grid system. Each meter sends back the info back to the POCO for usage. The way they detect leakage is when the math does not add up between meters. I am going to break it down in simple math so its not so confusing. So for example A transformer to B transformer usages is 10. The POCO is only getting paid on only 4 instead of 10. The POCO now knows there is leakage in between. Between each transformer powers a certain amount of houses, the newer your home the least amount of houses in between. In the Los Angeles Metro and Suburb area I noticed that houses built between 1910 - 1970 have anywhere from 40 to 75 houses per transformer. This was done because energy usage was not heavy during those years and the houses are a lot smaller. If I travel out of LA about 45 minutes the newer houses and newer cities which cater to larger houses have anywhere from 10 to 30 per transformer. Now we wonder how do they detect usage between those houses when there is leakage. It's very simple and almost sad. They go out and measure amperage usage on the power lines between transformers. Each line that goes from transformer to transformer has to have splitters in between to power houses. They basically will measure each one of those lines for amperage usage. This is the reason it takes the POCO anywhere from a few months to a few years to catch power thieves. The reason so many people are getting away with stealing electricity is because the POCO does not have enough employees to go out and check the usage. They know who is stealing electricity but the man power and wages to check those lines will be higher than the electricity stolen. Enter the smart meter. Since the smart meters now are able to transmit signal back and fourth, reading amperage on your line is a thing of the pass. Each smart meter is able to read how much amperage is being used vs. how much is being paid for. A perfect example of this is in Canada. They started implementing smart meters a few years before the USA did and there meters and software are working close to 100%. This is bad news for everyone in Canada and soon to be USA. This means, whether you pay for electricity or steal electricity they will know how much is being used. Here is an article in 2010 from BC Hydro.
