Energy Theft
Energy theft is a crime everyone pays for ...both in terms of costs and safety. At Edison, we're doing all we can to prevent theft, but we need your help!
Some customers tamper with their service connections or meters to avoid paying their fair share. Covering these losses drives up everyone's cost of service.
But the problem does more than just increase the cost of electricity: tampering with electric meters and wiring can result in serious fires, injury and even death. It poses serious danger to the thief, to people living nearby and to Edison employees.
If you suspect someone of tampering with his or her service, you can anonymously call our toll-free Energy Theft Hotline at 1-800-227-3901, or send us an e-mail. Select the Energy Theft Hotline category on our Contact Us page. We'll do the rest.
Please have the following information available when you call. Be sure to provide as much of the information shown below that you can.
Please provide us with your name, address, and phone number. These will be used only if we need further information, and are held in strictest confidence.
The information we need on the incident being reported includes the following:
- Resident Owner Name (if known) or Business Name
- Address where observed (this is mandatory; include apartment number if applicable)
- Names of occupants at that address (if known)
- Date(s) observed
- Time(s) of day observed
- If not observed, how did you find out about the infraction?
- License plate numbers of vehicles at the location (if known)
- Describe the infraction using one of the items below:
- Saw meter inverted (upside-down)
- Saw hole in the glass of the meter cover
- Saw magnets around the meter
- Saw jumpers wires or cables in or around the meter
- How long this infraction has been occurring (if known)?
- Number of days
- Months
- Years
The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week and you are not required to identify yourself when you call. Remember, if the energy thief doesn't pay, we all do! We'll respond quickly and investigate any possible theft thoroughly. We strongly recommend that you let SCE handle the matter completely and not confront any suspected energy thieves yourself. That could hamper our own investigation, and put you at unnecessary risk.
Could someone else be stealing your electricity?
If you are experiencing out-of-the-ordinary or unexplainable electrical usage, see billing inquiries for possible high usage causes. Energy theft from you, although rare, is a possibility. You can take the following steps to find out whether a nearby residence is stealing electricity from your residence. To do this, you will need to turn off all of the electricity to your house. Make sure you can do this without harming people or equipment.
- Turn off all sensitive appliances and electrical equipment.
- Find your breaker box.
- Turn off all the breakers.
- Look around to see if somebody else's electricity (i.e., visible lighting or equipment) goes off when you turn off your breakers.
- Examine your electrical meter.
- With your breakers off, the wheel on your electrical meter should come to a complete stop. If the wheel is still moving, or if you notice that somebody else's electricity has gone out when you've turned off your own breakers, you should call your local police department to report the possible theft.
Important Reminder to Stay Safe
If you think that somebody is stealing electricity from you, notify local police. Do not attempt to confront individuals in person.
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