When British Gas Revenue Protection (RP) Officers were called to a business unit in South Yorkshire countryside, they found a substantial illegal cyber crime set-up powered by a significant amount of computer hardware – none of the energy for which was being registered. In the main room, the Officers found 200 computer units cooled by industrial fitted air conditioning units. They were met with an alarm and discovered CCTV was watching every room.

The RP Officers immediately contacted Yorkshire Police, who joined them on site within minutes. Investigation has confirmed the unit was an underground Bitcoin mining set-up linked to a known cyber-criminal gang network with involvement in the Dark Web and many other dark illicit activities.

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In September 2019, Grosvenor Services Group issued a consumer poll asking 1,000 UK billpayers about their attitudes towards the potential amnesty being considered by Ofgem. Following the closure of the poll, Grosvenor Services published an article in the Electrical Review outlining the responses received and detailing the associated benefits and costs that an amnesty would bring.

Grosvenor highlights the low consumer awareness around the safety risks associated with energy theft and confirms the importance of safety being at the forefront of the decision as to whether an amnesty should be implemented. The UKRPA Chairman also commented, confirming the intention for the Association to provide support to Ofgem and Members in this deliberation phase.

This is a great example of our Members taking positive action to increase the public’s awareness around energy theft and meter tampering. We welcome and encourage any other stories you may have which highlight similar messaging.

You can find the full article here.

On 18th July 2019, a British Gas Revenue Protection Officer discovered a cannabis farm in Handsworth. Support was provided by the local Police to dismantle the farm, which comprised of 50 plants worth thousands of pounds. The full story can be found here.

In another case, British Gas Officers received a tip-off of a cannabis cultivation being grown in a man’s property in Gillingham, through a tampered meter. British Gas acted to clear the cannabis cultivation promptly, and the individual was arrested and remains in custody. Please see here to access the full story.

This year Grosvenor Services Group, a UKRPA member, carried out a piece of research in association with Crimestoppers of 2,000 households across the UK. The report explores current attitudes,
as well as investigating which strategies will be most successful at winning over the public’s support in the battle against energy theft.

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Membership stories

In October, colleagues from the British Gas Revenue Protection team,  Helen Neary, Kevin Lawrence and Gavin Hamer have together all received the Certificate of Commendation from Chief Superintendent Jon Roy of the Merseyside Police.

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