Lesson 04: Electricity Prepaid Meter Bypass identification
This section focuses purely on the identification of bypasses, not on the correction of bypasses.
Overview
- Why audit (check) for bypass: Possible electricity theft thereby increasing the percentage of under recoveries.
- Its easer to check bypasses on all the split meters because no access to tenant residence is required, ensuring that tenant is not alerted, and allowing them to correct bypass.
- Use key to the kiosk boxes, which can usually be requested from the caretaker or security, some electricity boxes are not locked, property agent or Portfolio Managers can assist with access to the electricity boxes.
- It’s a challenge to do meter Audit on the common base meters since they are installed in the residence. Be prepared to deal with angry and furious clients, mostly when they know they have not purchased electricity for some time. Common base meters are more likely to bypassed than Split meters.
- Be prepared to check bypasses inside the Distribution boards as well. Some may only bypass the high electricity users like Geyser, stove, and plugs. Basic knowledge on house wiring is essential to check that.
Identifying Bypasses
The principle of the bypass is simple – to use electricity without paying, meaning that some electrical supply must be wired into the residence without being measured.
The most straight-forward bypass occurs at the meter, but it may be prior to the meter. This usually occurs with integrated meters, where electricity is fed into the residence prior to the meter. Cases of using the supply from the common area lights, their neighbours through the ceiling and using a common area plug with an extension cord are three of many approaches observed.
The bypass at the meter is the most common as the use of integrated meters is not recommended. The simple bypass consists of a cable being wired in parallel with the meter, thereby bypassing some of the load supplied. Sometimes the load cable is simply removed from the meter output and wired into the meter input/line side, creating a total bypass.
Below are pictures of an integrated and split prepayment electricity meter, as well as examples of bypasses.
