Energy theft How illegal bitcoin and cannabis farms scam grid

By the time a team of police officers and engineers stormed a disused office block in Wigan, Greater Manchester, on a November morning last year, the building had been abandoned.

- Jillian Ambrose

Left behind were rooms filled with thousands of cannabis plants - a plant nursery on the first floor, the growing crop on the second, and leaves drying out on the third.

The criminal gang behind the marijuana farm is thought to have fled after the grid operator cut off the stolen electricity used to power scores of LED lamps.

"This was a proper set up," said one engineer at the network operator Electricity North West, who took part in the raid.

"It had a kitchen, television, several beds and even a treadmill.

This was an incredibly professional set-up on an industrial scale."

The engineer, who asked not to be named, is part of a team set up by the grid company to crack down on the UK's billion-pound energy heist.

Across Great Britain about £1.5bn worth of gas and electricity is estimated to be stolen every year, adding an extra £50 a year to the average household bill.

The team at Electricity North West began their investigation after fuses started blowing at a local power substation in the middle of the night.

After the substation sensors showed that the power load was unusually high, and thermal imaging cameras confirmed buildings nearby were unusually warm, the police were called in.

"It is a growing problem.

Good, honest folk in this country are paying for this theft," said a second engineer, who also asked to remain anonymous because they routinely work with police to enter homes and businesses suspected of stealing energy.

At the moment, their employer responds to 900 calls a month.

Many cases of energy theft involve desperate people struggling to pay their bills as energy debts in the UK rise to record highs.

But there are also concerns that energy is increasingly stolen by organised criminal gangs to power marijuana farms or the servers behind illegal bitcoin miners.

"The main focus around energy theft is the danger that it causes to people.