Who Pays For The Electricity?

[neuron]

At the back of my home in a country lane, there is a telegraph pole. The top of the pole has a couple of ceramic insulators in place with each holding a single mains cable. These two cables travel via other two other poles to a couple of cottages at the end of the lane and are the sole electricity supply for the properties.

The pole has a streetlamp mounted two thirds of the way up. It looks like the top section of an old style lampost complete with a rectangular box mounted on the pole, which I assume contains the timeswitch (No LED sensors on the lamphead). The cables that are held by the insulators are each tapped by a single cable and each of these cables is the electricity supply for the lamp on the pole.

What I'm curious about is who pays for the lamp electricity. It's normally the local authority but I don't think the box on the pole contains any meter equipment as it's got umpteen coats of paint and hasn't been opened for years. The cabling supplies the cottages, so as the live and neutral conductors have been tapped this way, are the cottages owners somehow picking up the bill through their meters?

Thank you.

[Hymie]

None of the countries street lamps are metered; the cost to the local authority is based on a declared power rating for each lamp type, combined with the length of time that the lights are energised.

[TheChair]

The cottage owners won't be picking up the bill, as the current for the lamp does not pass through their meters.

[neuron]

An interesting idea Hymie. Seems to me that there is a lot of scope for fraud on the part of the local authorities if you are correct. Such things as changing high consumption sodium lamps for LED's alone would result in difficulties given the comparative cost of running them. How do the billing electricity distributors keep tabs on such changes? How do they cope with GMT/BST changes given that the lamps are on for longer/shorter periods? What about lamp outage periods? Are we being asked to believe that these declared figures are correct?

[neuron]

OK TheChair but you've not told me who does pick up the bill.

[ivor4781]

the local authority.... (the council)

[weecalf]

Look if this is gonna get nasty I'll pay

[Hymie]

It’s not so much of an idea – but what actually happens with unmetered electricity supplies; particularly applicable to street lighting.

Each and every street lamp within a local authority area will have an assigned power rating; this combined with the period of illumination will allow the authority to calculate the cost, and therefore how much they pay in total to the relevant power provider.

Inevitably there will be some error in the calculation versus the actual energy used, especially if a large number of street lights are controlled by a light sensor rather than a timer.

Although there is scope for fraud on behalf of local council’s – they are not the ones paying the bill, it is you and me, so they have very little to gain by being dishonest. Undoubtedly there will be audits to check the reasonableness of the reported energy usage.

Many local councils have realized that they can save money by switching street lights off from midnight until the early hours – claiming that it helps the environment by saving energy and reduces light pollution of the night sky – but for some reason this does not result in a reduction in council tax bills.

[Old_Geezer]

"The cabling supplies the cottages..."
That sounds naughty. Do the cottages get low or zero fuel bills ?

[donny48]

Why naughty ? It seems perfectly ordinary and straightforward.

[donny48]

The local authority will pay a bill based on estimated hours x power of light, the two cottages will pay for what goes through their meters.

[Old_Geezer]

Not naughty to tap into the street lights and the councils' (rate-payers') bill to supply your cottage ?
Thanks for the tip !

[donny48]

I give up trying to explain.