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Abstracting electricity
Crime of diverting electricity around an electricity meter and/or using it without paying for it

Abstracting electricity is a statutory offence of dishonestly using, wasting, or diverting electricity, covered by different legislation in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The law applies, for instance, in cases of bypassing an electricity meter, reconnecting a disconnected meter, plugging an electronic device into a socket without permission, or unlawfully obtaining a free telephone call.

In Low v Blease [1975] Crim LR 513, it was held that electricity could not be stolen as it is not property within the meaning of section 4 of the Theft Act 1968. Before the Computer Misuse Act 1990 those who misused computers ("hackers") were charged with abstracting electricity, as no other law applied.

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England and Wales

This offence is created by section 13 of the Theft Act 1968:4

A person who dishonestly uses without due authority, or dishonestly causes to be wasted or diverted, any electricity shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

This section replaces section 10 of the Larceny Act 1916.

The following cases are relevant:5

  • Low v Blease6 — The Queen's Bench Divisional Court held that making telephone calls without payment did not constitute theft under the Theft Act 1968, because the electricity could not be described as "property" within the meaning of section 4 of that Act. Use of the electricity in this case did not amount to "appropriation".7
  • R v Hoar and Hoar8
  • Collins and Fox v Chief Constable of Merseyside9
  • R v McCreadie and Tume10
  • Boggeln v Williams11

The applicable mens rea is dishonesty, as interpreted objectively following Ivey v Genting Casinos.12

Visiting forces

This offence is an offence against property for the purposes of section 3 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952.13

Mode of trial and sentence

This offence is triable either way.14 A person guilty of this offence is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years,15 or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum, or to both.16

History

Section 10 of the Larceny Act 1916 provided:

Every person who maliciously or fraudulently abstracts, causes to be wasted or diverted, consumes or uses any electricity shall be guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof liable to be punished as in the case of simple larceny.

In one reported case in London in 2015, a man was arrested for abstracting electricity (to the value of £0.00052) by charging his mobile telephone on a London Overground train, but he was ultimately not charged.1718 In 2018, London Overground introduced mobile charging sockets on its trains for public use.19

Similar offences

Section 125 of the Communications Act 2003 contains a similar offence for "dishonestly obtaining electronic communications services" which applies to services such as telephony and internet access, while section 297 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 creates a summary offence of avoiding payment for a broadcast or cable television services.

Northern Ireland

This offence is created by section 13 of the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, which is identical to section 13 of the Theft Act 1968. It replaces section 10 of the Larceny Act 1916.

Visiting forces

This offence is an offence against property for the purposes of section 3 of the Visiting Forces Act 1952.20

Mode of trial

This offence is an indictable offence which may be tried summarily upon consent of the accused.21 See hybrid offence.

Sentence

A person guilty of this offence is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years,22 or on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum, or to both.23

Republic of Ireland

This offence is created by section 15(2)(a) of the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995. That section replaces section 10 of the Larceny Act 1916, which was repealed by section 28 of, and the Schedule to, that Act.

References

  1. Low v Blease (1975) 119 SJ 695, [1975] Crim LR 513, DC /wiki/Divisional_Court_(England_and_Wales) ↩

  2. Irish Law Reform Commission, Report on the Law Relating to Dishonesty, LRC 43-1992, 1992, IELRC 2, footnote 6, published in September 1992, accessed on 4 February 2025 /wiki/Law_Reform_Commission_(Ireland) ↩

  3. "Abstracting electricity". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 6 October 2020. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095345117 ↩

  4. "Theft Act 1968: Section 13", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1968 c. 60 (s. 13) https://legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/60/section/13/ ↩

  5. Ormerod, David; Perry, David, eds. (2024). Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2025 (35 ed.). Oxford University Press. B4.144. ISBN 9780198924333. 9780198924333 ↩

  6. [1975] Crim L Rev 513 ↩

  7. Irish Law Reform Commission, Report on the Law Relating to Dishonesty, LRC 43-1992, 1992, IELRC 2, footnote 6, published in September 1992, accessed on 4 February 2025 /wiki/Law_Reform_Commission_(Ireland) ↩

  8. [1982] Crim LR 606 ↩

  9. [1988] Crim LR 247, DC /wiki/Divisional_Court_(England_and_Wales) ↩

  10. 96 Cr App R 143, CA /wiki/Court_of_Appeal_of_England_and_Wales ↩

  11. [1978] 2 All ER 1061 ↩

  12. Ormerod, David; Perry, David, eds. (2024). Blackstone's Criminal Practice 2025 (35 ed.). Oxford University Press. B4.145. ISBN 9780198924333. 9780198924333 ↩

  13. The Visiting Forces Act 1952, section 3(6) and Schedule, "paragraph 3(g)". (as inserted by the Theft Act 1968, Schedule 2, Part III) /wiki/Visiting_Forces_Act_1952 ↩

  14. The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, section 17(1) and Schedule 1, paragraph 28 /wiki/Magistrates%27_Courts_Act_1980 ↩

  15. The Theft Act 1968, section 13 /wiki/Theft_Act_1968 ↩

  16. The Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, section 32(1) /wiki/Magistrates%27_Courts_Act_1980 ↩

  17. "A man was arrested for charging his phone on a train. Why?". BBC News. 13 July 2015. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/33510792/a-man-was-arrested-for-charging-his-phone-on-a-train-why ↩

  18. Parkinson, Hannah Jane (13 July 2015). "Man arrested after charging iPhone on London Overground train". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 August 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jul/13/man-arrested-charging-iphone-london-overground-train ↩

  19. "TfL reveals ultramodern London Overground trains". Rail Technology Magazine. Retrieved 10 February 2025. https://www.railtechnologymagazine.com/News-archive/tfl-reveals-ultramodern-london-overground-trains ↩

  20. The Visiting Forces Act 1952, section 3(6) and Schedule, "paragraph 3(g)". (as inserted by the Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, Schedule 3, Part III) /wiki/Visiting_Forces_Act_1952 ↩

  21. The Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26)), "article 45". and paragraph 20 of "Schedule 2". (as substituted by "3(2)". of, and Schedule 2 to, the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1986 (S.I. 1986/1883 (N.I. 15) /w/index.php?title=Magistrates%27_Courts_(Northern_Ireland)_Order_1981&action=edit&redlink=1 ↩

  22. The Theft Act (Northern Ireland) 1969, section 13 /wiki/Theft_Act_(Northern_Ireland)_1969 ↩

  23. The Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I.26)), "article 46(4)". /w/index.php?title=Magistrates%27_Courts_(Northern_Ireland)_Order_1981&action=edit&redlink=1 ↩