AEP on lookout for theftApr 26 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Charlene Vandini Valley Morning Star, Harlingen, Texas
AEP-Texas says it is cracking down on customers who are using illegal and dangerous tactics to save money on their electric bills. This week, the utility company has brought theft-of-service charges against three of its Harlingen customers who together cost AEP almost $2,000. Each person was charged with a Class A misdemeanor. The residents, one on Acacia Road, one on West Arbor Street and another on Bass Boulevard, had installed "resistors," AEP-Texas spokesman Frank Espinoza said. The company also is bringing charges against a La Feria customer who also installed a resistor on his home's meter. The thefts involve $500 to $1,500 per case, Espinoza said, but he would not give specific information on the number of people who have been charged nor the amount of money the company says it has lost. AEP-Texas is pursuing other customers, he said, and will file charges against them for theft of service. A resistor is a device that alters the accuracy of the electric meter, Espinoza said. An Internet search shows that these devices are available for purchase for as little as $5. Every meter has a seal, because there's voltage in there, Espinoza said. It is dangerous, as well as illegal, to break the seal and open the meter. When customers tamper in any way with their electric meters, he said, they risk being electrocuted. "You can legally buy (resistors), but it's illegal to install them," he said. The use of resistors is not new, he said, and customers used them long before AEP began installing smart meters. AEP-Texas began installing the "smart meters" in 2013. The company said these meters provide greater reliability, enhanced customer service and innovative tools that can save customers money and energy. The meters allow the company to read customers' electric use without a meter reader visiting each residence. But the meters have another benefit to the electric company. "It just so happens that with the smart meters, we've been alerted more quickly," he said of the theft of service incidents. "We are aggressively seeking other thefts," Espinoza said. The company's efforts are focused on the entire Rio Grande Valley, he said. http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=32289027& |