B.E.L. warns against electricity theft

If you’re a B.E.L. customer contemplating the theft of that company’s power, you are advised that the illegal act can put you in jail. According to customer services manager Eugene Cleland, seventy-two cases of meter rigging have been reported and B.E.L. is taking action to stop the costly practice.

Eugene Cleland, Customer Sales Manager, B.E.L.

“It’s all over the country, but most of it is in Belize City. We have just recently intensified a programme doing house to house inspection and really checking for diversions. As we know, there are always cases out there of people stealing power.”

Ann-Marie Williams

“More or less, how do people tamper with their metres?”

Eugene Cleland

“That’s not really something I’d want to tell you, but it’s two main things that they would do. They would either tamper with the metre or divert from the main or load wire. But I definitely don’t want to go into any details with how people steal electricity. They need to remember that it’s very unsafe to steal power, especially if you don’t know what you’re going to do. And by the end of the day it’s a criminal offence, we can prosecute you, charge you. There has been a case where at one time we had reassessed a customer for almost two hundred thousand dollars that they paid. We’ll have to upgrade your deposit and we can deny you electricity.”

Ann-Marie Williams

“You say it’s dangerous too?”

Eugene Cleland

“Yes it’s dangerous, obviously you’re dealing with electricity. Electricity can give you bodily harm, it can even kill you.”

B.E.L. estimates that as much as six percent of its generated power was stolen last year, amounting to four point eight million dollars in lost sales. Cleland is asking the public’s co-operation in reporting power theft by calling toll free 0-800-bel-care. All calls will be treated confidentially.