The Delgaz Grid company identified around 400 cases of potential fraudulent consumption in the first quarter of 2024. The damage is estimated at over 2.7 million lei, the company claims.

Last year, almost 40% more cases of fraudulent consumption were recorded than in 2022. Improvisations aimed at stealing energy can affect both the safety of consumers and their goods, as well as the quality of the distribution service, Delgaz Grid officials claim.

“The energy inspection, a specialized structure within Delgaz Grid, identified in the first quarter of this year a number of 395 cases of fraudulent consumption, 201 of which were for natural gas, and 194 for the electricity network. The amount of stolen energy in the 395 cases discovered this year amounts to approximately 5.9 million kWh, with a value of over 2.7 million lei.

“Last year, 1,509 cases of fraudulent consumption were registered in the Delgaz Grid network, an increase compared to previous years, 906 of which were for natural gas, and 603 for electricity. The amount of stolen energy amounts to about 24 million kWh, with a value of over 11.7 million lei,” the company’s press release states.

Fraudulent consumption is theft and is punishable according to the provisions of the Criminal Code. Therefore, in order to identify the guilty persons and recover the damage, criminal complaints were drawn up and sent to the competent institutions.

The performances of distribution networks are affected by improvisations and clandestine installations, by the amount of unmetered energy. As well as the protections and automations that are designed and regulated taking into account a known, declared consumption. In the case of fraud, the consumption is not known and then the networks do not work at normal parameters either, with honest consumers who pay their bills regularly also suffering.