For a MAGNET? Seriously? LOL

[Aerovette]

how to lower your electric bill ... Oncor said I was meter tampering Really ! - YouTube

[Mike Mercury]

How do those utility box lock "thingys" negate the effects of magnetism ?

[OddBall]

In their letter they stated that the tampering began after he became a customer.
He doesn't say how long he's been a customer, but if they've checked the reading more than twice, then they've not found it there before. So if he was using the magnet to alter his reading, then his usage should reflect that from the months that they didn't find a magnet to the time that they did.
Since they've pulled the magnet, they should see an increase in usage now. Unless he puts another magnet out. Are they going to post a guard?

I bet the reason that they say that tampering began after he became a customer is because his average usage hasn't changed.

Also, the glass would have to be pulled and the magnet held next to the disk for it to alter a reading.

Also, how does putting a couple of locks on the box stop the nefarious magnetism?


Edit: He should sue for any stress related illnesses that they may have given him. Dude looks like he's about to pop a vein.

[Sea Six]

Any meter tampering will be found almost immediately.

There are larger meters servicing several addresses and the readings are compared to what left the power generating facility.

If the sums of the individual residences don't add up to the sums of the regional meters, they go out to each individual meter and they find the culprit.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Hmmmm.....wonder if it works?

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

Hmmmm.....wonder if it works?

See post 4.

It will. But not for very long.

[Mike Mercury]

with our newest meter, they don't have to be right at the meter to read it; just drive by or pull into the driveway. The only reason to read it in-person is because something is suspected. The meter in his video looks like one of the newer ones.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

with our newest meter, they don't have to be right at the meter to read it; just drive by or pull into the driveway. The only reason to read it in-person is because something is suspected. The meter in his video looks like one of the newer ones.

With my meter, no one does a damn thing. It uses cell towers to communicate the usage.

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by aerovette

With my meter, no one does a damn thing. It uses cell towers to communicate the usage.

interesting. First I've heard of that. If they are using the cell system... then the power company is paying an access fee for each meter then.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Mike Mercury

interesting. First I've heard of that. If they are using the cell system... then the power company is paying an access fee for each meter then.

No. We are. There was a fee to install them and $5.00 a month to have them...not that there is an option NOT to.

The company I used to work for built the communications mini-stations that gathered neighborhood info and passed it along.

Meter relays to Mini-Station relays to Utility company, all by cell. You can see relay boxes on some of the poles outside the subdivision.

They have battery back up, insane encryption, neat boxes. About 5 feet tall and 3x3 footprint.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_meter_reading

[Cybercowboy]

I convert my electrons to photons just before they hit the meter, then convert them back to electrons before it hits my breaker box. As far as my meter is concerned, it's just really bright outside and my bill is ZERO! All you need is a couple of inexpensive E2P and P2E devices. Make sure you specify three-phase 220V/10 million lumens.

[Kerrmudgeon]

Originally Posted by aerovette

With my meter, no one does a damn thing. It uses cell towers to communicate the usage.

All of ours up here are like that.....no meter readers at all. Only if there's a problem with the meter and then they replace it.

[Aerovette]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

I convert my electrons to photons just before they hit the meter, then convert them back to electrons before it hits my breaker box. As far as my meter is concerned, it's just really bright outside and my bill is ZERO! All you need is a couple of inexpensive E2P and P2E devices. Make sure you specify three-phase 220V/10 million lumens.

[Jasper711]

Originally Posted by OddBall

In their letter they stated that the tampering began after he became a customer.
He doesn't say how long he's been a customer, but if they've checked the reading more than twice, then they've not found it there before. So if he was using the magnet to alter his reading, then his usage should reflect that from the months that they didn't find a magnet to the time that they did.
Since they've pulled the magnet, they should see an increase in usage now. Unless he puts another magnet out. Are they going to post a guard?

I bet the reason that they say that tampering began after he became a customer is because his average usage hasn't changed.

Also, the glass would have to be pulled and the magnet held next to the disk for it to alter a reading.

Also, how does putting a couple of locks on the box stop the nefarious magnetism?


Edit: He should sue for any stress related illnesses that they may have given him. Dude looks like he's about to pop a vein.

the security locks are merely SOP for anyone suspected of foul play, won't stop a magnetic field but he now has a track record.

Not sure about the modern smart meters, but the old disc type were nothing more than an induction motor. Coils build up a field that generates a counter field in the rotating disc, that causes the disc to turn. It is all calibrated and can be slowed by a magnet located beyond the glass bowl.

Power company will have billing records for that address going back years, can see how that changed when he moved in, and again would notice a change when the magnet was applied. It should not be too difficult to estimate what the power bill should have been. I suspect paying back their estimated power consumption would be more agreeable than Civil Penalties.

The thief probably is a net neutrality advocate, and thinks electric power too should be unmetered, as an essential utility for modern life unencumbered with consideration for how much is used.

[Sea Six]

Originally Posted by Jasper711

the security locks are merely SOP for anyone suspected of foul play, won't stop a magnetic field but he now has a track record.

Not sure about the modern smart meters, but the old disc type were nothing more than an induction motor. Coils build up a field that generates a counter field in the rotating disc, that causes the disc to turn. It is all calibrated and can be slowed by a magnet located beyond the glass bowl.

Power company will have billing records for that address going back years, can see how that changed when he moved in, and again would notice a change when the magnet was applied. It should not be too difficult to estimate what the power bill should have been. I suspect paying back their estimated power consumption would be more agreeable than Civil Penalties.

The thief probably is a net neutrality advocate, and thinks electric power too should be unmetered, as an essential utility for modern life unencumbered with consideration for how much is used.

I don't know if you watched the video, but the guy seems to have put the magnet on there as a place to store it, not to intentionally disrupt the meter readings.

He's a scrapper and there is a ton of various scrap metal in the whole area... sorted out according to the metal type- iron, aluminum, etc.

He said he uses the magnet as a quick way of determining the type of metal he has collected. Says he just stuck the magnet on the side of the box as a convenient place to keep it.

[Black94lt1]

Originally Posted by Kerrmudgeon

Hmmmm.....wonder if it works?

It does, at least with the older meters

Originally Posted by Sea Six

I don't know if you watched the video, but the guy seems to have put the magnet on there as a place to store it, not to intentionally disrupt the meter readings.

He's a scrapper and there is a ton of various scrap metal in the whole area... sorted out according to the metal type- iron, aluminum, etc.

He said he uses the magnet as a quick way of determining the type of metal he has collected. Says he just stuck the magnet on the side of the box as a convenient place to keep it.

I don't buy that, I think he knew what he was doing and the video is his attempt to claim innocence.

In the 80's my father was a firefighter and one of his co-workers lost his job due to meter tampering - he put a magnet inside the meter box to slow the meter down (I'm not an expert in how it works). Since this was a small town with it's own power company etc and they were all city employees, he was able to get a meter seal, illegally though, and reseal his meter box, so no one ever suspected anything. One day the neighborhood he lived in was having some unusual electrical issues, so the electrical crew was checking house to house to see if they could find anything and stumbled upon his magnet when they opened his meter box. He ended up having to resign in order to save his pension, otherwise he would have been fired.

[Mike Mercury]

Originally Posted by Cybercowboy

As far as my meter is concerned, it's just really bright outside and my bill is ZERO! All you need is a couple of inexpensive E2P and P2E devices. Make sure you specify three-phase 220V/10 million lumens.

[OddBall]

Originally Posted by Jasper711

the security locks are merely SOP for anyone suspected of foul play, won't stop a magnetic field but he now has a track record.

Not sure about the modern smart meters, but the old disc type were nothing more than an induction motor. Coils build up a field that generates a counter field in the rotating disc, that causes the disc to turn. It is all calibrated and can be slowed by a magnet located beyond the glass bowl.

Power company will have billing records for that address going back years, can see how that changed when he moved in, and again would notice a change when the magnet was applied. It should not be too difficult to estimate what the power bill should have been. I suspect paying back their estimated power consumption would be more agreeable than Civil Penalties.

The thief probably is a net neutrality advocate, and thinks electric power too should be unmetered, as an essential utility for modern life unencumbered with consideration for how much is used.

I'll concede that the magnet could be placed outside the glass to alter the disc's calibration. The question now is how far from the disc and in what direction. It would seem the same force could advance the disc as well as retard it.

Previous occupancy billings are mute. He can always argue the claim (whether honestly or not) that he has a rigid and efficient discipline for power consumption. Unless they can prove it otherwise, only his billings really come into play. The proof comes now after they've removed the magnet. And that comes down to how much effort each party is willing to do;
If he is legit in his claim and the magnet was intermittently placed on the box, then he does nothing and the bill will reflect that.
If he did intentionally use the magnet and it it did alter the reading, then he will have to recreate that reading without getting caught.
Both situations put a lot of effort on the provider to monitor the box. Only if he is trying to alter the reading again without being caught, does he need to put forth a lot of effort.

And in the end, he can always claim ignorance. He explained why the magnet was there, which seemed like a very good alibi (again, whether truthful or not). At best they can charge him for the difference after they establish a baseline for a few months going forward. And they still need to prove that the magnet he used can indeed affect the reading on that box. Which would seem pretty simple to do.