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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| City households in gas theft scam | City households in gas theft scam |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| About 1,000 households in Belfast are stealing gas, Phoenix Gas has said. | About 1,000 households in Belfast are stealing gas, Phoenix Gas has said. |
| The company is working with councillors to highlight the dangers for those involved in tampering with electronic meters. | The company is working with councillors to highlight the dangers for those involved in tampering with electronic meters. |
| Phoenix General Manager David Strahan said: "If people persist in this activity, it's only a matter of time before they are identified." | Phoenix General Manager David Strahan said: "If people persist in this activity, it's only a matter of time before they are identified." |
| The issue was raised by PUP leader Dawn Purvis who said individuals were charging £60 to rig up meters. | The issue was raised by PUP leader Dawn Purvis who said individuals were charging £60 to rig up meters. |
| "This is incredibly dangerous, as people have been seriously injured in house explosions due to this type of tampering," she said. | "This is incredibly dangerous, as people have been seriously injured in house explosions due to this type of tampering," she said. |
| Mr Strahan said the company had ways of identifying the people who had tampered with their gas meters. | Mr Strahan said the company had ways of identifying the people who had tampered with their gas meters. |
| "We will catch up with them and we will seek to recover the money from them and we will seek to prosecute them," he added. | "We will catch up with them and we will seek to recover the money from them and we will seek to prosecute them," he added. |
| The company said engineers would inspect the electronic meter which records exactly how long the meter has been tampered with, and households would have to pay for the gas they have used. | The company said engineers would inspect the electronic meter which records exactly how long the meter has been tampered with, and households would have to pay for the gas they have used. |
| It believes meter tampering in Belfast is centred on small pockets in the north, west, east and centre of the city, and the likely scale of the problem is less than 1%. |