Meter Tampering Policy

Meter tampering shall be defined as tampering with or bypassing the Cooperative’s meter or equipment, or other instances of electric service diversion such as physically disorienting the meter, attaching objects to the meter to divert or bypass electric service or, insertion of objects into the meter, and other electrical and mechanical means of tampering with, bypassing, or diverting electric service.

Meter tampering is illegal, dangerous and is strictly prohibited. All known occurrences of meter tampering will result in immediate disconnection of service with or without prior notification. The Cooperative will notify law enforcement of all instances of meter tampering.

Adjusted Bills Due to Meter Tampering

In the event of meter tampering, any of the following may be used to calculate bills and assess charges for the billing periods in which the meter tampering occurred.

  1. Bills may be calculated based upon service consumed by that member at that location under similar conditions during periods preceding the initiation of meter tampering. Such estimated bills shall be based on at least 24 consecutive months of comparable usage history of that member when available, or less history if the member has not been served at that location for 24 months.
  1. Bills may be calculated based upon that member’s usage at that location after the meter tampering has been corrected.
  1. Bills may be calculated where the amount of unmetered consumption can be calculated by industry recognized testing procedures.
  1. The Cooperative may use other methods of calculating bills for unmetered electricity when the usage of other methods are more appropriate.
  1. The Cooperative will charge for all labor, material and equipment necessary to repair or replace all equipment damaged due to meter tampering. An itemized bill of such charges will be provided to the member.
  1. The Cooperative will charge a Meter Tampering Fee for costs related to discovery, assessment, documentation, bill calculation, and restoration of service associated with the incident.