How to determine if a neighbor is stealing electricity?

[Anfooshi]

So, I suspect the house next to us is stealing electricity, but I want to be sure.

Evidence:

1.) The fuse on the meter goes goes out every Saturday.
2.) Visible wires from their side to our roof area.
3.) The meter fuse goes out even though we have not turned anything more on. It's a 3500w rating.

Our previous rental home had the same rating and could handle more things on at the same time. I know the number of things on is not an accurate measurement, however it's the same stuff from the previous home.

Who can I call to actually investigate?

 

[Jaime C]

Have an electrician check it out. Or if going out of town, can you turn the meter off?

 

[Bad_azz]

So, I suspect the house next to us is stealing electricity, but I want to be sure.

Evidence:

1.) The fuse on the meter goes goes out every Saturday.
2.) Visible wires from their side to our roof area.
3.) The meter fuse goes out even though we have not turned anything more on. It's a 3500w rating.

Our previous rental home had the same rating and could handle more things on at the same time. I know the number of things on is not an accurate measurement, however it's the same stuff from the previous home.

Who can I call to actually investigate?

I would connect with PLN and ask them to come out and check for suspicious happenings with the electricity meter.
*Be careful not to accuse the neighbour as you could get in to trouble for slander- but you can ask them to come and check your meter and explain to them your problems- make a translation of relevant matters before they arrive, that way you know you have all your complaints/issues listed for face to face conversations- again do not accuse the neighbour- but point out the strange wires and the fuses cutting out etc.
If PLN proves that someone is connected to your electricity illegally then you have the proof that negates the slander side of things.
I would build a lock box around my meter and take photos of its cables and wires to protect it from sneaky thieves & show if any future tampering has taken place.
https://web.pln.co.id/kontak-kami

It could be that you just have some faulty wiring/fuse/connection somewhere & I would ask a trusted electrician to check it out after PLN visited - if they say it is not being stolen.

 

[centurion]

Us

So, I suspect the house next to us is stealing electricity, but I want to be sure.

Evidence:

1.) The fuse on the meter goes goes out every Saturday.
2.) Visible wires from their side to our roof area.
3.) The meter fuse goes out even though we have not turned anything more on. It's a 3500w rating.

Our previous rental home had the same rating and could handle more things on at the same time. I know the number of things on is not an accurate measurement, however it's the same stuff from the previous home.

Who can I call to actually investigate?

Usually the steal will be before your electricity meter.

 

[Hawk256]

Us

Usually the steal will be before your electricity meter.

If they steal before your meter, it won't affect your breakers or capacity.

 

[Hawk256]

I would connect with PLN and ask them to come out and check for suspicious happenings with the electricity meter.
*Be careful not to accuse the neighbour as you could get in to trouble for slander- but you can ask them to come and check your meter and explain to them your problems- make a translation of relevant matters before they arrive, that way you know you have all your complaints/issues listed for face to face conversations- again do not accuse the neighbour- but point out the strange wires and the fuses cutting out etc.
If PLN proves that someone is connected to your electricity illegally then you have the proof that negates the slander side of things.
I would build a lock box around my meter and take photos of its cables and wires to protect it from sneaky thieves & show if any future tampering has taken place.
https://web.pln.co.id/kontak-kami

It could be that you just have some faulty wiring/fuse/connection somewhere & I would ask a trusted electrician to check it out after PLN visited - if they say it is not being stolen.

This is the answer. You can also have PLN do a test to find out what appliances are draining more power than normal. They will isolate everything and measure each outlet for current draw. That's how we found out that we had an old chest freezer that was using more power than normal.

 

[Pak Tani]

It could be a faulty MCB switch that trips easily. 3500 Watts is a lot to steal from one's neighbour.
Have you tried switching this MCB off at night time? Perhaps you notice your neighbour's lights go dark or his air conditioner suddenly stops.
Another option is to ensure that all your electronic appliances are unplugged and all the lights are turned off. Look at your kWh meter and see if you notice a red LED blinking. This LED indicates that you (or your neighbor) is still using electricity. Depending on your meter, there are certain codes you can type in to read the real-time voltage of your PLN connection and your energy consumption and other data.

 

[centurion]

If they steal before your meter, it won't affect your breakers or capacity.

Correct.
Maybe weak MCB. Quite often in Indonesia, even for the quality one. Should replace the MCB first and then see.

 

[pantaiema]

So, I suspect the house next to us is stealing electricity, but I want to be sure.

Evidence:

1.) The fuse on the meter goes goes out every Saturday.
2.) Visible wires from their side to our roof area.
3.) The meter fuse goes out even though we have not turned anything more on. It's a 3500w rating.

Our previous rental home had the same rating and could handle more things on at the same time. I know the number of things on is not an accurate measurement, however it's the same stuff from the previous home.

Who can I call to actually investigate?

As others have mentioned, be cautious before accusing your neighbor of stealing electricity from you.

Usually, the roof area is located before your electricity meter. So, if you see a cable coming from their side into your area, even if they are indeed tapping into power, it’s more likely they’re drawing it from the utility company (PLN), not directly from you, since it’s before the meter.

Besides, people who illegally take electricity typically do it on a larger scale, such as certain factories, not for small household consumption, as the risks outweigh the benefits.

If your MCB keeps tripping, the cause may be a faulty device or leakage current in your own electrical equipment. The best step is to call a licensed electrician to inspect it. The utility company (PLN) won’t usually handle this for free, because anything after the meter is the homeowner’s responsibility. However, a PLN technician might be willing to check it for you as a side job, for a fee.

 

[Shadrach]

As others have mentioned, be cautious before accusing your neighbor of stealing electricity from you.

Usually, the roof area is located before your electricity meter. So, if you see a cable coming from their side into your area, even if they are indeed tapping into power, it’s more likely they’re drawing it from the utility company (PLN), not directly from you, since it’s before the meter.

Besides, people who illegally take electricity typically do it on a larger scale, such as certain factories, not for small household consumption, as the risks outweigh the benefits.

If your MCB keeps tripping, the cause may be a faulty device or leakage current in your own electrical equipment. The best step is to call a licensed electrician to inspect it. The utility company (PLN) won’t usually handle this for free, because anything after the meter is the homeowner’s responsibility. However, a PLN technician might be willing to check it for you as a side job, for a fee.

Good ole Indonesia? You have to pay someone to stop a Crime! If you see that your Monthly bill is unusually too high, it is your Right to have the Police, and the PLN, put a Stop to it! If you definitely see a Unqualified Cable coming over the property line into your Electric System, without your permission, Then Cut the Cable, and see if the Neighbor comes and repairs it! There is your answer! But before you do this, make sure it's not something the PLN has installed!

 

[Hawk256]

If you definitely see a Unqualified Cable coming over the property line into your Electric System, without your permission, Then Cut the Cable, and see if the Neighbor comes and repairs it!

Please do not suggest that people just cut a cable they know nothing about. Dangerous in so many ways.

 

[Anfooshi]

Good ole Indonesia? You have to pay someone to stop a Crime! If you see that your Monthly bill is unusually too high, it is your Right to have the Police, and the PLN, put a Stop to it! If you definitely see a Unqualified Cable coming over the property line into your Electric System, without your permission, Then Cut the Cable, and see if the Neighbor comes and repairs it! There is your answer! But before you do this, make sure it's not something the PLN has installed!

Dude you are the voice in my head that I know not to listen to, especially when angry.

 

[Shadrach]

Please do not suggest that people just cut a cable they know nothing about. Dangerous in so many ways.

Did you read all my post? I wrote, Before they cut a cable, ( MAkE SURE) It's not installed by the PLN!
It is also Dangerous to Steal your neighbors Electricity! If this person had to pay for finding out the Truth, Then that is Corruption at it's Finest!

Please do not suggest that people just cut a cable they know nothing about. Dangerous in so many ways

 

[Hawk256]

f this person had to pay for finding out the Truth, Then that is Corruption at it's Finest!

And what do you propose to do about it? No one is forcing you to stay here I hope.

 

[rols]

It could be a faulty MCB switch that trips easily. 3500 Watts is a lot to steal from one's neighbour.
Have you tried switching this MCB off at night time? Perhaps you notice your neighbour's lights go dark or his air conditioner suddenly stops.
Another option is to ensure that all your electronic appliances are unplugged and all the lights are turned off. Look at your kWh meter and see if you notice a red LED blinking. This LED indicates that you (or your neighbor) is still using electricity. Depending on your meter, there are certain codes you can type in to read the real-time voltage of your PLN connection and your energy consumption and other data.

We had a faulty MCB in our meter. It would trip randomly at low currents, then work for a while, then it would trip 10 times in a night. We spent ages looking for the culprit device and eventually decided it must be the meter and PLN fixed it that day. So do that first.

 

[vocalneal]

Go away for a weekend and turn your breaker OFF. That will soon tell you.

 

[centurion]

We had a faulty MCB in our meter. It would trip randomly at low currents, then work for a while, then it would trip 10 times in a night. We spent ages looking for the culprit device and eventually decided it must be the meter and PLN fixed it that day. So do that first.

Had the same situation. Schneider, 1 year1 old and already faulty. All installation done by the book, grounded.

 

[Anfooshi]

PLN came out at our request, on everyone's advice, we turned on all devices and found the issue is not the 3500 watt rating but the Amp rating of the fuse. If I understand correctly, we will upgrade the fuse to a higher amp rating but the same wattage.

 

[john madden]

So what were the "visible wires ... To our roof area"?

 

[pantaiema]

PLN came out at our request, on everyone's advice, we turned on all devices and found the issue is not the 3500 watt rating but the Amp rating of the fuse. If I understand correctly, we will upgrade the fuse to a higher amp rating but the same wattage.

The amperage of your cutoff fuse/mcb from PLN is proportional to your Power (Watt rating). The amperage of your fuse is the way the PLN will stop you using more power than your Power base contract.

You could do a rough estimation using the formula I=P/V.
In your case I=3,500w/220v=16A. So 16A should be the size of your cut off fuse from PLN. See also the table below.

If they give you lower than what you have paid for, the mistake is from PLN and you should be compensated for this. But in Indonesia, it is hardly the case.