Weird energy stories: Pot growers drain the grid

Could another benefit to the smart grid be an end to rampant energy theft by marijuana grow houses?

Jordan Diplock and Darryl Plecas, researchers at Canada’s University of the Fraser Valley, conducted a study that found illegal growing operations in British Columbia alone might be responsible for up to $154 million a year worth of stolen electricity from the utility BC Hydro.

In addition to lost electricity supplies and revenues, marijuana-growing operations pose other threats to the energy infrastructure, the researchers report:

“Indoor growing operations consume much more electricity than normal residential homes as they run multiple large wattage lights and other equipment (Garis and Plecas, 2007). This increased need for electric power means that the typical grow operation exhibits electrical hazards that can increase the risk of fire and other harms (Garis, 2008). The many electrical hazards combine to make indoor marihuana growing operations at least five times more likely to catch fire than normal residential homes (Plecas et
al., 2009).”

That’s one justification for a smarter energy grid that we’ve never heard from IBM, Siemens or the IEEE.