Widespread Linky electricity meter checks on way across France
Enedis is cracking down on ‘illegal hacks’ that have cost €250m in electricity fraud since 2022
Deliberately manipulating your Linky meter to falsely reduce bills is illegal, causes safety risks, and requires other consumers to make up the shortfall, says Enedis
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Electricity distributor Enedis is to step up nationwide checks on its smart Linky meters in a bid to reduce fraud, which the company says has cost honest consumers €250 million since 2022.
Enedis claims that some on social media share “illegal hacks” to manipulate their meters, which can illegally reduce their bills by up to 70%. Manipulating the meters in this way also carries significant safety risks.
“Electricity consumed fraudulently is paid for by all 38.8 million Enedis customers through the tariff for use of the public electricity network,” said Olivier Molinero, Communications and CSR Director at Enedis, to La Dépêche. “It is therefore the non-fraudulent consumers who pay for the dishonest customers.”
Mr Molinero said that Enedis has now set up “a project department” dedicated to cracking down on this fraud, and rolling out checks on meters.
“250 of the company's employees are currently working on these issues,” he said. “We are going to double this number to 500 by 2025’”
The company could also look to take legal action against fraudsters and those who charge to ‘manipulate’ meters.
Read also: Warning over Linky electricity meter frauds in France
Read also: Households in France without a Linky meter to suffer additional costs
Inspection campaigns and civil action
Enedis is set to step up its inspection campaigns after a successful trial operation that involved 500 customers across five regions (Ile-de-France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Grand Est, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and Occitanie).
This first wave of checks is designed to help Enedis discover instances of fraud, and readjust their consumption (working alongside electricity providers).
If the customer refuses or delays access to the meter despite being issued a formal notice, Enedis will be able to cut off their access to the electricity network within 10 days of the letter being sent. It may also be able to file civil action against the customer.
These checks will become “more widespread in 2025”, the company said.
