[redbeard]

May 1, 2012 12:03 am

Cannabis farms ‘cost energy groups £200m’

Around £200m worth of electricity is being stolen every year to run illegal cannabis farms across the UK, according to research released today.

Phil Butler, co-director of Newcastle University’s Centre for Cybercrime and Computer Security, said electricity costs associated with even a small-scale cannabis farm were “astronomical”. To get around this, farmers were “abstracting” – or siphoning - electricity from the main source, he said, often by digging outside their houses to illegally hook up with the main supply.

“Ultimately that means higher bills for law-abiding consumers,” he added.

Mr Butler’s team is now joining forces with other organisations to investigate ways in which information technology can be used to crack down on cannabis farms. He says there is potential to use smart meters which could identify when unusually high volumes of electricity were being withdrawn from the grid, and trace the spikes back to the illegal grow-sites.

The issue is to be discussed today at a conference in Newcastle attended by representatives of the Association of Chief Police Officers, energy companies and the Home Office.

Police have reported a boom in illegal cultivation of the class B drug, with more than 7,800 clandestine farms detected in the past year – more than double the number found four years ago. There is also growing evidence that organised crime groups are becoming involved in the trade.


link

[rusty22]

How are smart meters going to help with commercial grows which bypass the meter?
Why don't the energy companies get behind the reform ideas if they stand to make an extra 200m a year if growing was legit?

[se7en]

 rusty22, on 01 May 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

How are smart meters going to help with commercial grows which bypass the meter?
Why don't the energy companies get behind the reform ideas if they stand to make an extra 200m a year if growing was legit?

that is a top post!
what about the money they make from all of us who pay for our energy to grow our own bud in our own house?still treated like criminal ...
7

[JimmyPage]

The thing is, the electricity companies ALREADY have the power to inspect premises (specifically the meter) to see it it's being bypassed - without a warrant ! So it's hard to see what more they want.

Bear in mind that fraud investigation is probably a net cost centre for an energy company, and you can start to see where this whinge is coming from

"The biggest source of people abstracting energy is cannabis farms. If we didn't have to work to stop them, we could return even more to our shareholders without having to do any fucking work."

Maybe, just maybe, the biggest cause of people abstracting energy is the high price ? Especially when you realise that your energy bill is paying for the Fotherington-Smythes to get 40p/unit for the solar panels they put over the stables.

[DaSmokster]

 rusty22, on 01 May 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

How are smart meters going to help with commercial grows which bypass the meter?
Why don't the energy companies get behind the reform ideas if they stand to make an extra 200m a year if growing was legit?

The type of people that bypass the meter are still going to by pass the meter even if it was legal.

[rusty22]

 DaSmokster, on 01 May 2012 - 09:25 AM, said:

 rusty22, on 01 May 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

How are smart meters going to help with commercial grows which bypass the meter?
Why don't the energy companies get behind the reform ideas if they stand to make an extra 200m a year if growing was legit?

The type of people that bypass the meter are still going to by pass the meter even if it was legal.

I'm talking about large commercial grows. If legal, there would be no need for them as there would be legitimate companies growing and paying the electric bill. Any underground commercial growers would struggle to sell to legitimate retailers, so it would be pointless for them to be doing it. You may still get the odd (stupid) percy grower that would bypass the meter, but i can't see them losing £200 million a year from them.

I don't want to bang on the same drum, but we don't have breweries stealing leccy

This post has been edited by rusty22: 01 May 2012 - 10:03 AM

[snatch]

its just speculation again from the papers again

[toki]

Not that I condone thievery of any kind but it makes a nice change; the big energy companies being ripped off rather than their consumers.



toki

[JimmyPage]

 toki, on 01 May 2012 - 10:56 AM, said:

Not that I condone thievery of any kind but it makes a nice change; the big energy companies being ripped off rather than their consumers.



toki

er .... except all the electricity companies do is raise their prices to cover the loss. The only loser is the punter paying his bill.

[toki]

That's right jimmy, but energy prices do seem to rise regardless of the situation.

If it wasn't this reason it would be something else, what ya reckon?

toki

[digger 1649]

if we're legally allowed to grow,
wouldnt most grow outside or under glass ?

while weed is illegal the lecci companys getting paid either way.

This post has been edited by digger 1649: 01 May 2012 - 05:27 PM

[rusty22]

 digger 1649, on 01 May 2012 - 05:26 PM, said:

if we're legally allowed to grow,
wouldnt most grow outside or under glass ?

while weed is illegal the lecci companys getting paid either way.

Interesting question!

Personally, I wouldn't be able to due to not having a proper garden, just a yard. Plus you'd have to have a secure place to grow to stop anyone pinching them.

If I had a nice place in the country I'd definitely do it outside though.

[Gumbo]

 digger 1649, on 01 May 2012 - 05:26 PM, said:

if we're legally allowed to grow,
wouldnt most grow outside or under glass?

Hell yes,geodesic domefull

Gumbo.

[Lake Palmer]

Just looks like subtle PR to turn non growers against growers, hammering home the subtle message of "People who grow cannabis are costing us all money". That's what it looks like to me.

[Artificial Emotion]

If cannabis were legalized without the sort of taxation that PR is proposing (£1 per gram) which would be more than it currently costs to actually produce the stuff, prices would plummet so low that growing in greenhouses and not indoors under lights would become viable. You don't see people ripping gardener's greenhouse tomatoes because they don't cost a pound per gram of tomato to produce. As such this would prevent any incentive to waste money on expensive indoor lighting and the problem would disappear overnight. It's not rocket science and it's obvious PR is only going to make problems worse in this respect. He's part of the problem, not the solution.

This post has been edited by Artificial Emotion: 02 May 2012 - 07:10 PM