ZAPPING THOSE POWER THEFTS

Grow Ops - Re: "Pot busts net $2.3M," Jan. 6.

There is a simple solution to the proliferation of grow ops.

Most grow ops steal power for their lights, bypassing their power
meters. If Enmax were to measure power delivered to every group of
houses, and compare to the total power measured at each meter, they
would be able to identify groups of houses among which at least one is
stealing electricity.

Eliminating power theft should be good for business, and I wouldn't be
surprised if the measuring equipment is already in place.

Enmax can then alert police to the theft of electricity, identifying a
group of houses where at least one has a bypass. Either Enmax or the
police can look for the bypass, to find the power thief and the grow
op it supports.

Without easy access to power, it wouldn't take long to shut this
industry down. Good for homeowners, good for Enmax, good for reducing
crime in Calgary. So, why isn't this happening?

Idan Shoham,

Calgary