HYDRO DOESN'T SHARE BILLING INFO WITH POLICE

You could be growing marijuana in your house, but if you're not
bypassing the electrical meter, B.C. Hydro won't fink on you.

In fact, the only time B.C. Hydro calls the cops is when the resident
of a home, apartment or warehouse has purposely diverted the power
line to keep meter readers away.

"If there is someone using a lot of electricity for a grow-op, but
they're paying for it, then that's not our concern because we don't
take an official role in the law regarding grow-ops," said Elisha
Moreno, spokeswoman for Hydro.

Moreno said police have to file a Freedom of Information request to
find out consumption rates for suspected grow-ops running on legal
power.

In the last fiscal year, Hydro investigated 2,174 premises in the
Lower Mainland suspected of stealing power-the majority thought to be
grow-ops-and confirmed 515 instances of theft.

Citing privacy policies, Moreno couldn't say if the remaining
investigations involved grow-ops running on legal power.

That concern for privacy is welcomed by civil liberties' groups, but
aren't police concerned it could hamper their efforts to bust grow-ops?

Not according to Const. Sarah Bloor, a media liaison officer for the
Vancouver police department.

"[The drug unit] enjoys the working relationship they have with Hydro,
and that's not an issue for them," Bloor said. "So, if you're looking
for a comment in relation to that, that won't come out. We have a
positive working relationship." In last Wednesday's raid on a Triumph
Street warehouse, where police discovered 3,500 marijuana plants,
Hydro had suspected the operator was stealing power. After inspecting
the building with police, city building inspectors and firefighters,
Hydro investigators discovered the meter had been bypassed, estimating
that more than 82,000 kilowatt hours were used over a 60-day period.

Depending on how long the operation was running, a year's worth of
stolen electricity would be worth about $30,000. An average warehouse
would consume about 10,000 kilowatt hours, and an average home would
use about 2,000 kilowatt hours over a 60-day period.

Hydro still hasn't worked out a bill for the owner of the Triumph
Street warehouse.

When Hydro discovers electricity is being stolen, that information
becomes part of the file police forward to Crown counsel for charges.
While a theft of electricity charge is likely, Hydro also sends bills
to the owners.

Surprisingly, many of them pay.

In the last fiscal year, Hydro sent out bills totalling $2.2 million
to people caught stealing power, about 90 per cent of which was
related to grow-ops.

Hydro has already recovered $1.3 million, and at least one customer
offered to pay off his $30,000 bill in cash, Moreno said. With a pound
of marijuana fetching $2,500 to $3,200 on the street, the financial
incentive for running a marijuana grow operation is no secret.

In fact, Jim Shimek, who supervises the investigative unit at B.C.
Hydro, said he knows of a case where a woman caught growing marijuana
owns 11 properties. Though the former watch commander with the Surrey
RCMP admits keeping information about grow-ops from police is
frustrating, he said his unit has to respect privacy laws.

"It's a hard pill to swallow, but I'm not going to put my job on the
line for a marijuana grow operation. I mean that's just the way it
is."

Meanwhile, the city is investigating the owners of the warehouse on
Triumph Street for building two floors without a building permit.
Hanuman and Cora Prasad are listed as the owners, according to the
B.C. Assessment Authority.

A 2004 business licence issued to the premises for a towing and
wrecking company will also be reviewed, said Carlene Robbins, the
city's manager of bylaw administration.

"[The owners] will have to prove they had no knowledge of the grow
operation, despite operating the towing business out of there,"
Robbins said.

If the owners want to reopen the warehouse, they will have to pay $800
for a special inspection fee and any other repair costs, Robbins said.
The owners purchased the property in February 1977 for $32,000.