Homer Electric Association is suing an RV park owner for allegedly stealing what it says was more than $325,500 worth of electricity over seven years.
According to a report, it’s the co-op’s largest reported case of electricity theft to date.
The suit was filed last week in Homer District Court. Sterling resident Max Finch allegedly used a wiretap for several years to avoid paying the energy used by his business Alaska Canoe and Campground.
Finch said he did not know about the wiretap or the stolen electricity and claimed it was the fault of the previous property manager.
This is the second time HEA has revealed it’s found the campground and RV park stealing electricity.
“We’re generally not comfortable with anyone diverting energy because what they’re really doing—they’re not just taking from HEA, they’re taking from all of our members,” said Keriann Baker, HEA’s director of member relations.
“Because those costs are being passed onto all of us as a collective, as a cooperative,” the director added.
Baker claimed linemen found the tap this fall when they were trying to figure out why a meter’s display is not functioning.
However, while at the property, they saw evidence of tampering and then found what appeared to be a hole dug into the ground next to an electric transformer pole. Underground, they discovered two wires clamped to a service line, as per the complaint.
When the linemen questioned him about the wires, Finch explained that an electrician he commissioned had installed them.
Linemen attempted to investigate the matter further a week after. However, they couldn’t as the suit claimed that Finch’s vehicle was directly over the said hole. On the other hand, Finch claimed that it wasn’t his truck and he was out of the country at the time.
The truck had been moved when the linemen returned. They investigated and discovered that a service line had been tapped to divert electricity from the meter into a different area on the property. It was then removed immediately and the meter was also de-energized, according to the suit.
Homer Electric said Finch started diverting electricity in November 2014, which brought the total energy obtained from the co-op with no payment to at least $325,543. The cooperative estimates that there is an additional $9,992 in property damage.
Finch claimed that the wiring was installed by an earlier property manager who passed away in 2014. He claimed the manager paid bills while he was working away from home. He contended that the manager could have altered the wires to save money.
“Any of the costs that were incurred from the business he had to pay for,” Finch said. “And of course, the electrical was the biggest bill.”
However, he said he was unaware of the diversion. He also said he didn’t realize he was not paying what he was supposed to be paying to HEA as there were a lot of bills for the property and the variety of guests who stayed there.
He claimed he was not capable enough to dig that hole. He also provided evidence that he required the assistance of HEA to resolve an electrical problem.
“It was something that was bigger than me. I wasn’t capable of doing that kind of project,” he said. “I just left it to HEA to figure out, or I would’ve tried to cover my tracks somehow. But I didn’t do that.”
The lawsuit alleged that Finch’s truck being parked over the area and the earlier tampering incident demonstrate that Finch is guilty.
In 2013, Homer Electric caught Alaska Canoe and Campground altering two meters. This caused three transformers to explode and caused damages of over $38,751. Finch was also responsible for an additional $6,025 in lost energy-related payments.
He paid back both and was reconnected later that year. He claimed the manager was accountable for the interference as well but he was able to pay for it because he owns the property.
Homer Electric said it’s entitled to the amount of the damage and three times the amount of the stolen electrical energy, which is close to $1 million in total.