ATHENS UTILITIES BOARD
CRACKING DOWN ON UTILITIES THEFT

ATHENS, Tenn. (August 22, 2001) - The Athens Utilities Board (AUB) is taking a new approach with people who steal utilities, be it electricity, gas, or water. AUB is prosecuting.

Utilities theft is not a new phenomenon, according to AUB spokesman Wayne Scarbrough. “We see theft occasionally, but have not pursued many cases into court,” he said. “We have decided that, in some cases, we need to take that step.”

That decision, Scarbrough said, reflects a management philosophy that AUB’s service to the community goes beyond simply providing utilities. “Our management priority today is to work in the best interest of our customers at large in every way. Stealing from AUB essentially is stealing from other customers, because the good customers end up subsidizing those that aren’t paying for what they use.”

AUB’s tougher stance also reflects solid business practice, he said. “As with any business, we have to wholesale purchase the commodities we sell to our customers. When someone steals power, we lose money. We just can’t continue to stand idly by and write off theft losses at the expense of good customers. In our non-profit status as a community provider, what negatively affects AUB negatively affects all of our customers,” he explained.

The scenario is much like that of shoplifting, he explained, wherein theft leads to higher prices for everyone. If AUB loses thousands of dollars via theft after having paid suppliers such as TVA, he said, AUB must decide how to make up for the loss through deferred maintenance, reduced project activities, fewer reserve funds, or rate hikes, Scarbrough said.

AUB is currently pursuing at least two cases of theft. One reaches outside of the AUB service area to Etowah, where power meters were stolen, brought to Athens and placed on AUB meter bases illegally to obtain power at a house for which no utilities account had been established, according to AUB.