On Apr 28, 3:52�am, Metspitzer wrote:
This seems unlikely. �I would like to hear more details.

http://abcnews.go.com/WaterCooler/wireStory?id=10489334

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police are investigating a man for theft
after he siphoned electricity off a high-voltage overhead transmission
line for one month with the help of an ordinary meat hook, authorities
said on Tuesday.

The 36-year old man from Sibbesse in Lower Saxony concocted the plan
to steal electricity after the power company cut him off for failure
to pay his bills, police said.

The man attached a cable to the meat hook and tossed it onto an
overhead power line. He then drew power from the transmission line to
his home, located about 150 meters away.

"I've never seen anything like this in my 34-year-career," said
Friedrich-Wilhelm Lach, chief executive of regional utility
Ueberlandwerke Leinetal GmbH, told Reuters. "It's incredibly dangerous
and utterly stupid."

An employee of the utility noticed the meat hook during a routine
check. Lach said the man was lucky he is still alive and warned
copycats not to try it: "It will kill you," he said.

(Reporting by Christopher Lawton; editing by Paul Casciato)

Copyright 2010 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or

I used to work for the electricity board. This is a common trick,
I've seen it many times. In the UK the live side is the upper wire
and is insulated nowadays to help prevent this trick and for safety.
There's lots more tricks if anyone out there is interested!
It would be on 230/240 volts system. The next level is 11Kv, he'd
never have survived. Though it HAS been attempted.