Cost of living crisis leading to increasingly desperate measures with potentially fatal consequences, says SELECT and SNIPEF
Illegal meter-tampering is putting peopleβs lives at risk as they resort to increasingly desperate measures to reduce spiralling energy bills, two leading electrical and plumbing trade bodies have warned.Β
Campaigning electrical associationβ―SELECTβ―and theβ―Scottish and Northern Ireland Plumbing Employersβ Federation (SNIPEF)β―say the cost of living crisis is driving a worrying rise in meter-tampering, with potentially deadly results.Β
The bodies say interfering with electricity and gas meters can have a βdisastrous effectβ on perpetrators and innocent people nearby β and have urged anyone coming across tampering to report it and avert disaster.Β
In a joint statement,β―Alan Wilson, Managing Director of SELECT, and Fiona Hodgson, Chief Executive of SNIPEF,β―said: βIt is a distressing sign of the times thatβ―an increasing number of consumers are resorting to tampering with their electrical and gas meters in an effort to reduce their energy bills.Β
βStealing energy in this way is a worrying and illegal practice, often encouraged by widely shared footage on social media. But it risks lives and can have fatal consequences for innocent people close by.Β β―Β
βSuch services are often offered by unscrupulous individuals who will bypass services or devices for a fee. But often the methods they use are often extremely dangerous and they can have no, or very limited, knowledge of what theyβre doing.Β
βLike all gas and electrical work, interrupting the supply is something that should only ever be dealt with by fully-trained and qualified professionals.Β
βWe are urging all householders and tradespeople to immediately contact the relevant energy company if they suspect meter tampering has occurred.βΒ β―Β
The trade bodiesβ warning echoes aβ―recent alert from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Serviceβ―(SFRS), who say meter tampering is occurring with increasing frequency as the price of electricity and gas rises.β―Β
Sean Smith, Fire Investigation Officers Watch Commander with SFRS, said: βSFRS is now seeing meter tampering and removal services with increasing frequency and, sadly, we have first-hand experience of the tragic circumstances that they can cause.Β
βWe are now engaging with communities to discourage this dangerous act and make people aware of the significant risks from energy theft and meter tampering.βΒ
The renewed alert follows aβ―warning last year from energy regulator Ofcom, who flagged the danger of social media posts claiming gas and electricity meters could be removed as an βenergy-saving hackβ.Β β―Β
It also coincides with the current high-profileβ―Stay Energy Safeβ―campaign fromβ―Crimestoppers, urging contractors and consumers to contact them anonymously atβ―0800 023 2777β―if they think a meter has been tampered.Β
As part of the campaign, Stay Energy Safeβ―highlighted theβ―tragic case of an elderly woman who died in a house fireβ―in Glasgow after her son had their electricity meter bypassed to save on bill payments.Β
For more information about SELECT, click here
Find out more about SNIPEF here
