In the UK, it's currently estimated that circa £1.5 bn of gas and electricity is 'stolen' annually. It's not, however, the 'energy impoverished' who are responsible for all these thefts. Some major criminals power their illegal marijuana 'farms' with stolen energy. Enormous amounts of energy are needed to power LED lighting, provide heating and to dry their product. Other tricksters, use massive amounts of illegal electricity to 'mine' for bitcoin. It should be noted, that 'stealing' energy requires pipes and cables to be rerouted, bypassing monitoring devices. Some of this is done quite professionally, sometimes with bribed electricians. In many cases, however, the bodged manipulations are highly dangerous. This 'heist', of course, also drives up costs for legal users (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/22/fight-against-britain-billion-pound-energy-heist). UK folk are consequently in danger of losing out in terms of costs and safety. The scams don't stop there. 'Energy impoverished' folk are further targeted by the wide online availability of 'energy-saving' electrical plugs (https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/apr/22/illegal-potentially-unsafe-energy-saving-plugs-available-uk).These devices neither save electricity nor can they always be safely-used.
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