OREANDA-NEWS. February 11, 2016. As a result of revealing the fact of non-contractual consumption the Yaroslavl branch of IDGC of Centre sent a petition to the internal affairs bodies on the fact of causing especially large damage, the total amount of which was 1,516.484 rubles. As a result of the check the Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the city of Yaroslavl 20 January 2016 opened a criminal case under Part. 2 of Art. 165 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, providing for imprisonment of the offender up to 5 years.

Also 5 June last year during a joint raid of the security unit of IDGC of Centre and Distribution Zone of category 1 of "Yargorelectroset" unauthorized connection of a large construction site in the city of Yaroslavl was found. In particular, the developer illegally connected a 3-phase cable to the transformer substation TS-846. A few days later another fact of unauthorized connection was revealed. The investigation found out that the developer began to illegally consume electricity already in 2013, self-connecting to the grid, which was at that time in the service area of OJSC "Yargorelectroset". (Please, be reminded that as of January 2015 OJSC "Yargorelectroset" was included in the structure of IDGC of Centre and all functions of electricity transmission, maintenance of electrical networks and connecting new customers were assigned to the Yaroslavl branch of the company.)

The initiation of criminal proceedings was based on a common position of the security unit of the Yaroslavl branch of IDGC of Centre and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Yaroslavl region in relation to such theft of electricity generated in the course of working meetings and joint briefings.

During the period of 2015 the security staff of the branch identified more than a dozen cases of non-metered electric energy consumption only by developers on construction sites totalling 10 million rubles. This was made possible by carrying out a series of on-site inspections of electrical installations of consumers who received permissions to build with the local government.

Unscrupulous developers independently connect to the electric networks and steal electricity, at the same time they often physically act against controllers during raids, trying to hinder their access to electrical installations. Given the capacity of power installations of illegally connected construction sites (often greater than 100 kW), developers cause significant damage to the electric grid company and conscientious consumers.

IDGC of Centre will continue to be active in identifying cases of illegal connection to the electricity grid and electric energy theft, as the successful work in this direction helps reduce electricity losses, and thus – increasing energy efficiency and reliability of power supply. We remind you that in accordance with the laws electricity consumption without a contract qualifies as theft and it entails responsibility, both administrative and criminal.