Power bill increase and Cops

TYPE-X

TYPE-X

Well-Known Member
well im not going to tell him whats up, i may be dumb but i'm not stupid. I can shoot the shit with the best of them, i'll let you know what he says
 
mockingbird131313

mockingbird131313

Well-Known Member
bleorg said:
I've got 200 amp service in a 2000sf house. I'm only running a couple of CFls right now but I plan to hook up a 400 hps very soon. I'm really not worried about it. Right now my bill ranges from $50-90, and I usually don't even know why. I was using a space heater a couple of months ago, I didn't use it at all last month and my bill went up $20. I had electric hot water in my last place and the bill was about $60+ higher all the time. I'm really not worried about anything since that 400w hps and an air conditioner is probably as far as I'm going to go here.
I also read somewhere that the power company can detect an increase in power usage and a decline when your lights are turning on and off. I really don't understand how. I've got a meter outside, a guy comes around once a month and reads it, and that's it.
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If they want to do so, a person on a utility pole can monitor the line voltage and determine what you are typing on an electric type writer. But, most concerns are not really worried much about such things. Lights in the house aren't noticed unless there are other issues that have been observed.
 
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popo9er

Active Member
If you live in an average house in a residential and our pulling a $1000 dollar bill.... You should be worried. If your cultivating NOT COOL. However your freedom and family if you got one.... I would look into taming that thing down a lil justa friendly suggestion. :peace:
 
w33D@hOL!c

w33D@hOL!c

Well-Known Member
why would a increase matter to these companys, more power= more money= happy company!!! am i wrong? jus smoke a bowl and relax lads n ladettes. people getting to paranoid. peace p.s cant get my pics up help pls.
 
S

stickyicky77

Well-Known Member
Just tell tell them that you have been using your air conditioning alot more this year or you have had problems with it that caused your bill to go up. But i really don't think that $20-$40 more on your bill would get anyones attention.
 
pitbill

pitbill

Well-Known Member
Hey,

I put an electric pool heater in last year and my bill went from 300 month to 600 month for 4 months. No one even asked why- they just want their money!! Dont worry, unless you quad your bill no one will even notice.:peace:
 
Jungleman

Jungleman

Well-Known Member
Hello all...Very good thread..I just wanna ask you ,i live in big 2 bdrm aprt.i need 600w hps.Is too much ???Or 400w can make magic too>?
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
Our local phone company has a "no report" policy if any of their technicians run across ANYTHING related to drug deals, dealing, or grows. I would not be surprised if other utilities are the same. When we got our cabin in Tahoe back from our renter he left us with HIS bills to pay, including electric. The woman who was glad to take our money for his living expenses actually joked that he probably had a "growing" problem (which I misunderstood to be "grilling" til she repeated it). Yes, he grew in the cabin, used a LOT of electricity and during winter natural gas. They didn't report shit to the popo, they just made us pay for it.
 
johnnycash

johnnycash

Active Member
Dude that is a crap statement. NO it wont i have been run 6ks and no knock.

Firsttimer said:
Ok, so I just read on the Nirvana sight under grow guide section that a rise of 500 watts form the year before can get you a knock at your door. I am running a 400 HPS and the fans with it. I thought that they only really took a notice if it was a huge power use in a house. I live in a 1800 sf house. Does anyone have any idea if this is something to worry about???:-|
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Tokin Tosh

Tokin Tosh

Active Member
I have over a 4000 sf home and my bill runs 300-500 every month I would be really concerned if you are payin that much for such a small house.
 
zonked

zonked

Well-Known Member
look, in the state of California you can LEGALLY grow 6 mature/12 immature plants with a medical license. If you live here you can grow legally so that means regardless if you do get a knock on the door then your ok. If you dont then your not growing legally.
 
Seamaiden

Seamaiden

Well-Known Member
zonked, look for a thread started by fdd2blk. The court in L.A. has determined that the plant limitations are unconstitutional, as SB420 makes no mention of limits.
 
genfranco

genfranco

Well-Known Member
Dude, By the time the electric company is watching the grid to see if your shit spikes or not... its too late.. That means that they are investigating you... 400watt light is nothing... I mean like the other guy mentioned.... how many computers do you have at home.. did yo ever get a call fromt he cops or anything when you bought a PC?... hehehe... dont worry about it man.... the only thing is you have to make sure you pay your shit on time and no problems... hell the electric company would love for you to have 1000.00 bills every month..as long as you pay there is not problems.
 
northeastern lights

northeastern lights

Well-Known Member
yeah def bullshit. i have ALL electric in my house. my hot water heater has 2 elements, one is 3500 watts and the top is 4500. in the winter my bill is about 300 to 325. thats with all electric baseboard heat. in the summer its about 125-150. ac's running almost every night, not to mention my grow is pushing 14 amps. like franco said if they are already investigating you, you did something wrong along the line.
 
Phelps

Phelps

Well-Known Member
bleorg said:
I was wondering that myself. When I was growing in my old place, it was around $140, but that was with electric hot water, which was probably over 30% of the bill. If I fully loaded every circuit in this house 24/7 I don't think I'd hit $1000.
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Its about $150 per month in electricity to flower a square meter to its full potential where I live. Some people grow for clubs or are breeders and it wouldnt be a thing to run 5 or 6 square meters or more.
 
Realclosetgreenz

Realclosetgreenz

Well-Known Member
Installing a separate box for your grow is a good idea. a two breaker system with a water heater timer is good and about $100 to make yourself. $300 to buy complete. it putts less drain on your main one and highly usefull.
 
J

jlazalde97501

Member
mogie said:
Does (my power company) have a privacy policy?
1. (my electric company) DOES have a privacy policy which is specifically designed to protect our customers and their details. We are also bound by the aforementioned Data Protection Act of 1998.

If so, does it state that (my power company) will not
divulge customer information (power usage, personal information, etc.)
to any outside party without a proper warrant?

2. NO personal data will be divulged to anyone outside of our organisation without the specific permission of the Customer; with a warrant; or a specific order from a Government Agency, again as covered by the Data Protection Act of 1998. If you read this it specifically states (under the Subject Access Request section) that any personal data may only be retrieved
for the person it pertains to or a Government Agency (such as the Police) who occasionally request such data.

If not, does (my power company) voluntarily report
"abnormal" power usage to law enforcement agencies without provocation?

3. I can assure you that (my electric company) DOES NOT, under any circumstances, monitor and report our 6 Million customers power consumption for anything other than OUR business requirements (we are busy enough as it is!).

For the VERY VERY limited occasions/situations when we are asked to supply information to a Government agency we only respond to the questions asked, most likely examples being: tracing missing persons or deducing the occupier of a house in a specific time period in Rent disputes.

There is more information readily available on (my electric companies website) or alternatively the OFGEM web site (The Office of Gas & Electricity Markets) Ofgem HOME the government sponsored watchdog for the Utilities industry may offer you more information.

More on power consumption and privacy rights:

(Ganja Lawyer)
....the Privacy Act and 4th Amendment protects utility companies from LEO searches w/o probable cause. (in the US) Except I had heard in some places utility records are PUBLIC- giving LEO (and everybody else) access...
if such matters WERE available to the general public then it would also be available to LEO (w/o a warrant).

(Lothar)
Unlike the US, Canadian hydro companies are bound by a contractural privacy agreement not to disclose anything to the police without a warrant. Meter readers who try and rat out suspicious usage houses can be fired for this.

They don't "red flag" anyone unless the usage is suddenly jumped up by like 300% - in that case, they phone you to make sure you know about it.

They will also contact you if you suddenly start using dangerous amounts of electricity, as though you have reached the 85%+ of your house\'s rated amperage.

Other than that, they don't care.

As for warrants, the police must obtain a warrant for the electrical usage first, and then a warrant for your house, but the Supreme Court ruled long ago that even electrical usage of 3-400% compared to similar dwellings in the neighborhood is "suspicious only\" and not grounds to search.
Police….. are currently trying to coordinate with the hydro companies, insurance companies …. are mainly concerned with hydro theft.

The hydro companies are often slow to detect the theft, and that's why you can get away with it for a year or so. They are hoping to get them on board to investigate suspicious activities like local power drains sooner, and they are happy to do this since hydro theft is such an expense and hassle.

(Power theft) ….is a crime and they will report that to their inspectors if they can't get a reasonable explanation, or at least have you acknowledge that you are now actually using the power.

Sudden jumps in (large) power usage might be flagged, also sudden reductions in power...Raising usage gradually is easy and you might as well just to be safe.
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thats whats up
 
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