Kit's Khaos

[kerick]

Back in the day I had to survey the inside of a new condominium that was being extensively renovated.  The electricians had finished the conduit and pulled all the wires through then the drywall crews had put up all the drywall. Then the electrical inspector showed up. Out came the stop work order then they had to strip off the drywall so that the electrical could be inspected. I guess it was their first job in the city of Chicago. The inspectors can be very strict.

[Rick Lowe]

It turned out that the big armoured power lead that went down the edge of the garden path to the shed was connected to the mains power line BEFORE the 'Company Fuses', which was very illegal of course! It all got re-wired legally and investigations showed that the previous owner of the house was an electrician working for the National Grid! 

A similar story I heard was of a house that kept getting disconnected for non-payment of their power bill - but it was always mysteriously re-connected, without having paid the bill...
It turned out the inhabitant was a sparkie, and was able to fiddle the works to reconnect them.

The electricity company made it known in the local pub that if it happened again, without the bill being settled, the cable between the house and power pole (yes, it was that long ago) would be physically removed.
"You can't do that!"
"Yes we can, the cable belongs to us, not the property."

The bill was paid and (most) people were happy. 

They were thinking about charging us an estimated amount for the 2-3 years worth of 'Shed Power' that we'd used, but we got my Uncle on the job, as he was a Senior Barrister, and they decided not to pursue the matter. 

It's good to have Friends in High Places... though even better (?) are Low Friends in High Places...