Pubdate: Sat, 01 Jan 2000 Source: North Island News (CN BC) Copyright: 2000 North Island News Contact: 1625 Mcphee Avenue, Courtenay BC V9N 3A6 Fax: (250) 334-4983 Author: Harbour City Star DRUG GROWERS COST BC HYDRO $10 MILLION A YEAR Marijuana growing operations diverting electricity are costing BC Hydro at least $10 million a year. In the last decade on Vancouver Island,the number of hydro diversions has catapulted from a few people trying to hide the cost of hot tubs to more than 100 this year, all for marijuana growing operations. Hydro diversions for anything other than growing pot are now unheard of and the numbers keep increasing. "We're seeing the doubling up of diversions every three to four years," said Wolf Presslaur, with BC Hydro's security diversion on the Island. Pesslaur, a former mountie, said diversions for pot growing began taking off around 1996. This year 80 per cent of the discovered marijuana growing operations between Victoria and Port Hardy were diverting power. In 1998 only 25 per cent of busted grow ops on the isalnd had diversions. Presslaur had no figures for the rest of the province. Growers often rent homes in middle class neighbourhoods and set up grow operations using divertd power. A grow operation with a few lights see $1,200 increase on a hydro bill over 60 days is not diverted. A grow operation broken up in November was using 2,000 kilo-watts daily, what an average home uses in two months. Two lights use as much electricity as a single home, 20 grow lights use as much power as 15 homes. The risks are blown transformers, interrupted service, and house fires. Growers risk electrocution and serious burns. "What I'm seeing on the Island is one house fire a month," said Presslaur. Pesslaur strongly recommends anyone renting out a home to inspect it monthly. He said millions of dollars lost by BC Hydro are only part of the overall costs. "It snowballs, there's property damage, insurance, and on and on. The only people who are really impacted are honest people". - --- MAP posted-by: Eric Ernst