Erica Virtue, Staff Reporter
WEALTHY households, banks, hotels and plazas are among those stealing electricity worth millions of dollars, according to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSCo).
Mark Mendel, manager for corporate security at JPSCo, told The Sunday Gleaner that there is a misconception that electrical theft takes place only in Jamaica's poor inner-city communities.
"Electrical thieves can be found everywhere uptown," explained Mr. Mendel, who declined to name the businesses or identify specific neighbourhoods. "We know them."
He said the JPSCo's Revenue Protection Division collects an average of $14 million monthly from affluent "uptown" communities in St. Andrew for electricity which had been stolen. That amounts to an average of $168 million annually.
"The theft from uptown is just as much, only more sophisticated," Mr. Mendel explained recently. "And it is from both residential and commercial facilities. They deliberately circumvent the Jamaica Public Service Company's meters."
Illegal connections
According to Mr. Mendel, the thieves include banks and other financial institutions, hotels, garages, major plazas, shopping centres, rich households, and the industrial sector. The thieves divert power from the JPSCo meters using illegal connections to electrical wiring. These are often hidden in walls and ceilings to avoid detection. As a result, only a minimal amount of the electricity used is recorded on the meters.
Mr. Mendel said that in some instances potential tenants were lured by low rentals to take offices in plazas. He said the owners of the offices were able to attract tenants because they - the owners - were not paying for the electricity.
He told The Sunday Gleaner that in one instance a bank located "from Half-Way Tree up" was last year assessed and found to be stealing electricity amounting to a total of $6.4 million since 1992.
In such circumstances, the institution is asked to pay 50 per cent to 75 per cent of the total immediately and the balance within 48 to 72 hours. But even when they are caught, some electricity thieves contest the allegations.
"In this particular case (at the bank) the individuals took a moral high ground. They had a roomful of technological equipment, except a JPSCo meter. We informed them that there was a problem and they claimed that they were getting electricity from next door. So we went next door and disconnected the electricity, and guess what, they still had light," Mr. Mendel explained.
Mr. Mendel said in the particular case, a cheque for 50 per cent of the amount was made out to the JPSCo, but the bank had its lawyers write to the JPSCo advising the JPSCo to attend a meeting with its legal department.
"The JPSCo maintained its position. They knew they were stealing and true enough, a manager's cheque for the remaining amount was sent to us within the time specified," he added.
He also said there is always the possibility that once an individual is stealing electricity at his/her business place, if there were more than one business nearby, those would likely to be stealing too.
When a guilty person is caught, Mr. Mendel explained, he/she would be informed of the breach, given a bill, and a specific time in which to make payments. They would also be advised to correct the electrical wiring. The adjustment must then be "passed" by the JPSCo.
Mr. Mendel also explained that a single uptown household in most instances, will steal electricity equivalent to the amount stolen by several inner-city households combined. This is because of the type of additional electrical equipment usually installed in the affluent homes, but not normally found in poorer communities. Therefore, he said, while theft was not as widespread uptown, it was significant because of the large amount of money.
