Cannabis farms were sucking vast amounts of power off the UK’s energy grid, the industry regulator said yesterday, as it announced a clampdown on electricity theft that would force power firms to act or face fines.
Regulator Ofgem said at least £200 million (R3 billion) of electricity was stolen in Britain each year. As much as a third of that was used to feed illegal cannabis farms, it said.
New proposals, due to be in operation by 2015, will require suppliers to detect, investigate and prevent electricity theft, liaising with police forces and the government. Similar rules were introduced for gas theft this year.
Indoor cannabis farms, which use artificial light to mimic the effect of the sun, used about 40 times more electricity than normal households, Ofgem said.
Angela Knight, the head of Energy UK, the trade association for the electricity and gas companies, told BBC Radio that Ofgem was right to highlight the issue and that industry was keen to “step up to the plate”.
“This is complicated, [the cannabis growers] are bypassing the system, so the normal meter reading, you don’t pick it up.”
She said the industry would need significant help from the police as those involved tended to be fraudsters and gangs.
Cannabis is a class B drug in Britain, which means those who supply and produce it can be imprisoned for up to 14 years and/or face an unlimited fine. – Reuters