GLADES ELECTRIC PUTS $500 BOUNTY ON GROW HOUSES

SEBRING - The abundance of illegal marijuana grow houses has caused
Glades Electric Cooperative to take action.

The company is offering a $500 cash reward for information that
directly leads to the discovery of an illegal grow house operation.

"We decided to do the bounty because the proliferation of these grow
houses is just tremendous," said Paul McGehee, business development
manager for Glades. "It's costing the co-op and our membership
thousands and thousands of dollars. It's time to make a stand."

McGehee added that these operations can cause anywhere from $2,000 to
$6,000 a month in stolen electricity. This leads to lost revenue and
higher rates for members.

Over the last two years in Highlands County, law enforcement
officials have dismantled around 80 of these illegal grows. One came
in October, where deputies with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office
found roughly 70 plants - valued at $500,000 - at a grow operation in
Lake Placid.

A Glades co-op member made a call to a trustee that directly led to
the discovery of an illegal grow operation that yielded a crop of
over 100 plants, according to a press release. Early estimates put
the value of stolen electricity at close to $50,000.

Some of the suspicious things the member noticed was the residence
was maintained as if occupied, but no one was ever home during the
day, children's toys were in the front yard but never any children, a
continuously running air conditioner and several power blinks.

If anyone suspects an illegal grow operation in Glades Electric's
service area, they can call the Power Diversion Team Hotline at 863-946-6229.