EDP Espírito Santo carried out more than 100,000 inspections in the State 2017

Thursday 11, January 2018

Inspections verified last year resulted in recovered energy equivalent to the supply of one month to the municipality of Serra

Vit—ria, January 10th, 2018 - In the balance of actions to combat energy theft, EDP Esp’rito Santo executed more than 100 thousand field inspections in the year of 2017, in the 70 municipalities of the state it serves. The volume of energy recovered could supply the municipality of Serra for one month. Field activities are carried out by teams with specific training and equipment to identify manipulations on the meters or any abnormality in the network.

In relation to the result for the same period of the previous year, they identified 11% more irregularities, such as meter manipulation and irregular connections. In addition to the high risk to the population and the negative impact in the quality of electric energy, this type of practice represents an increase in the value of the energy bill of regular customers, in addition to the loss to the Distributor.

Pursuant to Article 155 of the Brazilian Penal Code, theft of energy is a crime: "Abstract, for you or for others, foreign matter: penalty of imprisonment, from one (01) to four (04) years, and fine." And according to the rule of the Aneel Resolution, all unbilled energy during the period of the irregularity and the administrative cost will be collected.

Withdrawal of clandestine connections

Unlawful action may cause overload in the electricity grid, with loss for the population, which suffers from the interruption or oscillation of home supply and on public roads. The irregular connections also present the risk of more serious accidents, such as death of the offender or third parties, since the cables of the electric network are always energized.

And, contrary to what many people imagine, the theft of electric energy does not cause losses only to the Concessionaire. The most injured are our own customers. Since the tariff also covers electric losses, the cost of energy used irregularly by the people who commit this crime is partly passed on to all users of the network.

In order to curb more and more the theft of energy, EDP Esp’rito Santo asks the population to contribute by denouncing the irregular connections. In order to do so, it provides channels of customer service: EDP Online, through its website www.edponline.com.br, application, attendance agencies and the Customer Service Center on 0800 721 0707, that works 24 hours and with a connection free of charge. The confidentiality is total, and the inspection carried out to the maximum urgency.