anybody have any info on electric companies snitching?

[still pluggin]

Is an electric company handing over records without a warrant a violation of some sort of privacy act or statute?

Obviously if pigs get wind of your operation and request records in writing, you're fucked. But is there a precedent for electric companies being good little civilians and handling over records of high-usage clients on a whim?

For example, from a link to a bust on this website:"...The tips were enough for the drug unit to keep an eye on the place and check out the utility bills. They found that previous occupants used between 700-950 kilowatt hours of electricity a month the previous few years. The current renter was using 1,526 a month, despite only seeming to stop by a couple of times a week."

This implies the electric company handed over private information on a whim, not a warrant.

 

[gdup]

The link you are posting states that they received tips then checked the utility bills. Not sure what motivation a power company would have to turn people in. They usually only care if you are paying your bill and not stealing power.

They have no reason not to cooperate if they are asked, but to go out of their way to proactively get people busted sounds a little far-fetched. Not impossible, just unlikely.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

no info..

But we'd all be ignorant to think that it cant/doesn't happen. LEO have buddies in all walks of life. A lot of squares like to kiss ass to their cop buddies...and I'm sure many would gladly lend a hand should they so work at an electrical provider. This info is not very secure, and while the "company" might need the warrant to provide info admissible in court, don't think that it cant be done "on the low" to determine who they might want to sniff out a little closer. All it would take is a friend, family member, snitch to be an employee and this info could easily be obtained.

Bottom line - pigs make shit up all the time to get their case and/or make it warranted. If you rely on them always following protocol and all the up n' up shit your in for a rude awakening. They do what they have to do to determine your "their guy" and then put the legal pieces together. I've seen a few cases around here where they get 1 tiny piece of the puzzle, and make up the other 2 to get a warrant or whatever.

 

[WelderDan]

It's hot as fuck here, lotsa older homes with poor insulation, window shakers, etc. So a big power bill doesn't even cause a blip on the radar. What does is stealing power.

Obviously it depends on where you are. Generally, the power company is only concerned with making a profit, and they don't care how high your bill is. The higher, the better.

The top 3 reasons people get busted are loose lips, smell and stealing power.

Unless you're running multiple 1000 watters and cooling equipment, you aren't going to raise any questions with regard to power use. My 1000 watt HPS, pumps and veg lights combined barely nudged my power bill by $50

 

[amber666]

i'm sketchy about the whole situation. heard horror stories and now with smart meters it's even worse. why install smart meters if they don't care?

 

[PascalLacsap]

Pay your bills, on time. Don't steal hydro. Don't have obvious signs on house for meter reader/neighbor/local rat/cops to get ideas about. Don't be stupid and run 10K lights in 2 bedroom bungalow. NO SMELL.

 

[Guest 18340]

i'm sketchy about the whole situation. heard horror stories and now with smart meters it's even worse. why install smart meters if they don't care?

Smart meters are being installed to cut man power cost and curb theft.
To the OP, a "tip" is enough for a cop to get a warrant to look at your bill.
Electric companies do not scan every account for high usage OR 12/12 patterns. Smart meters were tested in the southern part of the state I live in and have been their for a few years now and their have been ZERO busts from 12/12 or from high usage alone.
A company WILL notify law enforcement if they think you're stealing power.
If you're not sure about things go to the company's website that provides your power. Somewhere it should tell you what they do with your info and who gets their hands on it.
In my case, my provider states that unless they have expressed consent from me OR a subpoena that NO ONE gets any info.
Of course their are instances of extremely high usage arousing suspicion, usually when transformers keep blowing for no apparent reason...

 

[supermanlives]

havent heard any. i got one . it was manditory and i talked to the installer as he put it in.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

Smart meters are being installed to cut man power cost and curb theft.
To the OP, a "tip" is enough for a cop to get a warrant to look at your bill.
Electric companies do not scan every account for high usage OR 12/12 patterns. Smart meters were tested in the southern part of the state I live in and have been their for a few years now and their have been ZERO busts from 12/12 or from high usage alone.
A company WILL notify law enforcement if they think you're stealing power.
If you're not sure about things go to the company's website that provides your power. Somewhere it should tell you what they do with your info and who gets their hands on it.
In my case, my provider states that unless they have expressed consent from me OR a subpoena that NO ONE gets any info.
Of course their are instances of extremely high usage arousing suspicion, usually when transformers keep blowing for no apparent reason...

I agree, but also always mind the possibility of cops doing shady shit. Your provider can "state" whatever they want..as a company. Regular schmucks in billing/customer service have easy access to account info, usage, etc. Not saying this is common, but favors can easily be done should so one want to inquire into usage...off the cuff. Cops, Rippers, whoever..

likely? I dont know, but mind the possibility that this stuff can/does go down.

Everything can be cool till it aint.
Smart Meters are OK, till they decide to start actively using them to identify "crime".

 

[_Dude]

Don't trust what you read in the papers. The cops have every reason to deceive people about how they conduct their investigations. Making people paranoid about power companies (not the way they get their busts) and relaxed about people dropping dime (how they get their busts) is a win-win for the cops.

 

[dddaver]

I believe the issue of police lying made it all the way to the supreme court, and bothered me that they said it was okay for cops to lie. So, they can and do lie. I personally don't think just a "tip" should be enough for a subpoena, again, even a lie could get them that. Lying to suspects was supposed to be the issue, but this can be construed to fit that. Not to totally derail this thread but I just could never get over the fact that in effect the Supreme Court picked our last President, totally against everything America is about. Anyway, thinking the electric companies might need a warrant to give LEO info is almost moot. It would be nice if things worked the way they were conceived, but they don't. Just don't believe nothin' I guess.

 

[growshopfrank]

Don't trust what you read in the papers. The cops have every reason to deceive people about how they conduct their investigations. Making people paranoid about power companies (not the way they get their busts) and relaxed about people dropping dime (how they get their busts) is a win-win for the cops.

the police are known to be professional liars

 

[Lebniis]

My name was on the PGE bill for a 7200 watt grow that ended up not being paid by the person who took responsibility to do so. Eventually when I found out the bill wasn't paid it was put out for collections -10k. So as I was trying to pay the bill off, one day I came home to a undercover SUV idling out front of my house. I don't know why but I pulled in behind him and saw his pig face, sunglasses and light bar. Everything about this suv screamed pig- you guys know.

Moral of that story, I believe that my high PGE bill and maybe lack of payment led to them notifying authorities. I happened to be leaving that spot anyways and nothing ever came from it.

 

[still pluggin]

I spent yesterday doing some investigating on my own. I have no facts to offer, and I won't go into specifics. Only educated opinion to follow..

Tons of busts stem from high usage, with no warrant issued or required. In certain states, cops absolutely do request random blurbs of high usage residential customers and begin investigating based on this (note: I have evidence of this thus far only in small towns in the US South). Some electric companies are known to regularly hand over high usage clients as part of monthly business with local police, but only in the above-mentioned US South. Most companies don't seem to. However, a huge number of companies have been shown in court records to hand over customer data with no warrant.

To reiterate: most of the time, electric records don't matter until you've already slipped up and the police are investigating you. However, sometimes the electric companies will literally hand over your information to police based on no police investigation at all.

This nonsense about paying your bill on time and you'll be A-OK is bullshit. Read court records. You are wrong.

All of the above are much more likely to happen in the South, but have happened everywhere, including California and Colorado.

I offer no facts and will produce no evidence other than my own testimony in talking with various people and doing research online, take it for what its worth.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

I agree..just because its not the attention grabber.. doesn't mean it wasn't used somewhere along the line to acquire info on potential growers..

Off-topic, but if cell companies are reporting this.. do you think electric companies are not receiving similar requests..

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new report finds that law enforcement agencies in the U.S. made more than 1.3 million requests for customers’ cellphone records last year.

It’s an alarming surge over previous years, reflecting the increasingly gray area between privacy and technology.

Sprint says it received about 500,000 subpoenas in 2011. Requests are increasing annually at Verizon and T-Mobile. And AT&T has a dedicated team of more than 100 workers whose job it is to handle police requests.

Cellphone carriers say they usually require warrants to hand over information, but not in emergencies, such as when there’s an immediate threat to someone’s life.

The information was collected by Massachusetts Rep. Ed Markey. He said laws need to be updated to ill protect people’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches using modern technology.end of story marker

 

[johnnybravo]

To reiterate: most of the time, electric records don't matter until you've already slipped up and the police are investigating you. However, sometimes the electric companies will literally hand over your information to police based on no police investigation at all.

This nonsense about paying your bill on time and you'll be A-OK is bullshit. Read court records. You are wrong.

heed his ^ words!

 

[supermanlives]

well in so cal a family got raided a few years back for high electric usage . turns out family mom was taking in laundry . it made the news . no drugs at all. so that should tell ya something

 

[username474]

well in so cal a family got raided a few years back for high electric usage . turns out family mom was taking in laundry . it made the news . no drugs at all. so that should tell ya something

That article caught my attention as well. Neighbors complianing about in and out traffic was the intial factor in this investigation though. (I will try to find the link.)

 

[supermanlives]

i dont remember what lead to the raid . but no drugs were found.

 

[FlowerFarmer]

That article caught my attention as well. Neighbors complianing about in and out traffic was the intial factor in this investigation though. (I will try to find the link.)

Or likely that is just their made-up bullshit part because the e-bill records were obtained without any real reason.

None of it is probable cause for a warrant alone, but they make shit up to look like its something its not in order to make it look good on paper and justify their raid. A lot of times they are right and everything goes smoothly in terms of legality of their "investigation"... In this case - they were dead wrong.