The recent rise in electricity prices will soon make the kWh as valuable as cigarettes to the French tobacconist. If this surge can encourage consumers to compete in ingenuity to save energy, we also note that this may lead to fewer legal abuses. This is what the electricity distribution network manager, Enedis, wants to warn its customers.
In a recent call for evidence launched by 20 minutes, a reader assured us that he had tampered with his electric meter so that he no longer had to worry about running the heating at full capacity. Of course, this is illegal, but the practice seems to be becoming more widespread.
“Endis has been informed of the use of its name and the identity of some of its employees for fraudulent purposes, such as making dangerous and illegal changes to the electrical panels of its customers, thus distorting their electricity consumption”, the company assured in a press release published. This Wednesday.
Beware of scammers and deliberate fraud
If Enedis highlights the dangerous side of non-compliant intervention on the first panel or on the electric meter, there is also a big story behind it. Indeed, with more than 37 million customers, the company has a high probability of being exposed to fraud. In good faith to its customers, Enedis therefore reminds that it “does not promote any business and does not sell any product or service that alters the integrity of its customers’ electrical panels in order to partially or fully reduce the amount paid for the electricity they use. Curry.
Furthermore, it is not Enedis’ prerogative to bill you for your consumption, but the energy suppliers’. And even for their part, discounts (such as off-peak prices) are made before consumption, never after. So if you see an “Endis agent” arriving at your home promising you a deal that can cut your consumption in half: it’s a scam.
In addition to victims of scammers, Enedis also warns smart people who are tampering with their own installations. The electrician insists that “energy theft is punishable by heavy fines” in court. According to the Penal Code, theft of energy to the detriment of others is considered simple theft, “three years in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros” penalty can go up to “ten years imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros”, if the theft is committed with violence “other people but resulting in total incapacity for work for more than eight days”.
