PG&E Visitor, says "Your usage is up!" Real or fake?

[Lord Humungus]

when i was up there (PG&E terrirtory) working the first run of an 10k room, about half way thru we got a phone call from pg&e asking if we knew the usuage was high asking if we wanted them to come out and help troubleshoot the high usage....
we explained that there was medical equipment and we knew the draw was high....

but never a visitor.... and the sheriff you know makes his presence known.

jeez crazy
just with the t5s huh?

 

[Lazyman]

IMHO

Real employee - fake visit...

They know you have legit grow - one of their employees knows your details, is planning a rip, and checking out your new digs for security / dogs / persons on site.

First thing that came to mind...

Now thats an interesting conclusion, i can see it being possible, maybe not probable but who knows?

There's only one way in, past a security gate, 2 pitbulls and an insomniac badass with a shotgun,then a 2" thick fire door with a deadbolt. It would be quite a feat to get in there if you werent supposed to. Certainly no way to do so quietly. Wish I had my cameras up but it will be a couple more months unfortunately.

 

[Lazyman]

Yep Smartmeters aren't on here yet (according to PGE website they lite up in May) and I had the t-5's running a few days before the power was transferred, so honestly the usage hasn't hardly changed a bit.

No the power bill prior to my renting was fairly high too, usually in the $400-500 range.

 

[chuckyoufarley]

you can make magnetic signs and just throw them on the side of any truck and make a power co. truck.

 

[headfortrinity]

When I had a meter that was in a bad spot I told the power company I wanted to do self metering where you dial a little wheel according to what is on the meter and hang it in front of the house/gate on the day the meter reader comes around, they didn't question a thing.

Also you might canvas the neighborhood, look for the truck, It could be a pro-active neighbor checking you out.
Nothing worse than someone who doesn't know when to mind their own business.

 

[Lazyman]

Headfortrinity, thats a grand idea! I will see if we can do that right away, I'll tell them it's because it's hard to control the pitbulls we keep there and its for their safety.

So, if this guy shows up again, I've left instructions to ignore him completely. Any other suggestions? Odds are that I won't be there when/if he shows up again. I'd love to get his business card but I don't think that any conversation with the guy will be of any benefit to us.

 

[burnedout]

It sounds like someone knows your plans with the place to be honest. I know you keep a pretty tight ship, and I'm sure the fella who lives there does as well if you trust him that much, but that sure is what it sounds like to me.

PGE with a legitimate visit? Highly unlikely from the sounds of it. LEO? Again, highly unlikely in my opinion.

I really think it sounds like a ripper of some sort, and a fairly sophisticated one at that (even though it's obviously easy to slap a sign on a truck.. but if he's doing that and pretending to be a pge rep, he's at least semi-competent).

Maybe it was a mix up or nothing at all, but I'd be somewhat cautious if it was me.

 

[Lazyman]

Yeah you would think so, but only 1 of my friends knows where the op even is, so it would come back to him very quickly. I basically saved his ass from getting popped myself too so I really feel quite secure with him.

If it's a ripper it's quite a ballsy move, all it would take is someone asking for his business card and making a phone call to bust his story open. Man I wish I had the guys name so I could find out if he was with PGE or not, and then talk to his boss and get his ass canned. He can't bring any heat that can't be dealt with.

 

[Gr33nman]

id go with pge and a mix up. and if ur legit....no worries. ripper maybe, leo... not imo

 

[Gr33nman]

please do keep us updated on the out come. be safe homie!

 

[zeppelindood]

It's a PGE employee, off the clock, scouting your area... to rip your ass off He's hot now, so it's trouble for him if he comes back.

 

[Lazyman]

Yep I'll let you guys know if I hear anything else. Is there anything else I should do? Should I try calling PGE again and asking WTF?

 

[opt1c]

pge bugged me a few times wanting to weatherize the house i'm in... i'm like i'll get back to u on that.... with all the bs about the smart meters reading high and customers being pissed it could just b a proactive employee making sure everything is in order with the way ur meter reads

i figure a big coral reef aquarium with a huge water chiller; 1000watt gaming computer; inefficient old 65inch plasma etc ur use can get up there

 

[pimpjuice]

it was pge ... after I fired up my show I didn't get a bill for months, had to call pg&e to get it sent, they thought usuage was abnormally high, I said "sounds right to me, send me a bill", she told me they'd have someone follow up with me and make sure my meter was working correctly, never saw them if they did. In general I don't think they give a phuck. Same thing has happened to other friends of mine.

 

[Lazyman]

Thanks pimpjuice, I believe you and I really, REALLY hope that this is the same thing. But is going from a 500 to a 550 PGE bill abnormally high or worth sending someone out on? I dunno, maybe they realized that it's been high for a long time (well before I came along) and figured they'd check it out, and it's just a coincedence I'm there now too.

Speakin of coincedences, came home from working on my basement and a sheriff passed me just a hundred yards from my house, and another was sitting nose out in my driveway! Gulp. I kept driving all nonchalant and went for a pack of smokes. A buddy did another driveby for me a few minutes later and they were gone, no notes or business cards here so they musta been using my driveway to nab speeders.

Scary couple fuckin days, I need a drink or hey, who left this greenbowl of Jackpot here?

 

[Lord Humungus]

FUCK!!!!

 

[Moneygrowonweed]

Hey lazy PM to let me know do you live in cali I need to know if they are using smart meters here now.

And best of luck with this shit.

 

[Strainhunter]

Get a GSM based camera (cell phone based network) which will immediately send you pictures + audio straight to your email and/or cell phone to keep you posted so even if the camera gets found/stolen you will already have the picture(s) unlike with trailcams where you have to retrieve the pics manually.

Ebay for under $200 shipped
+ a GSM SIM card with preferably unlimited data limit.

 

[praisehim.]

Hey lazy PM to let me know do you live in cali I need to know if they are using smart meters here now.

And best of luck with this shit.

pgne is for the bay area mostly. so yeah hes in cali. everyone in cali will eventually have a smart meter put in. its not issue to worry about, just pay your bill.

 

[Strainhunter]

Just in case some of you are wondering how a smart meter diagram looks like: