"Jeff Wisnia" wrote in message
...
SQLit wrote:


snipped

I had a customer that bought 20 acres of land with a barn and a huge
home on
it. I was called in when the kitchen was being remodeled and they needed
new
electrical circuits. I went to the service and found no main but 6 200
amp
fusible switches. Ok a bit strange but nothing wrong so far. One switch
had
no wires on it so we labeled it as a spare. Kitchen had a panel, barn
had
two panels and the sleeping area of the house had a panel. That left
one
switch unaccounted for, we continued with the remodel and the owner got
the
first electric bill, well over $400.00 and it was not even hot yet in
the
Arizona desert. Second bill was over $600.00. Owner was really upset.
Rumors
had it that the previous owner was a drug dealer and there was a
underground
storage room. I got a tracker and started chasing down the wires. Got
to
the mystery wires and they ran straight off the property heading into
another development of homes. I waited until dark, I then turned off
the
switch and low and behold the neighbors homes all when dark. I removed
the
wiring from the switch and cut it off close to the concrete so it could
never be re connected again, per the owners orders. Electric bill
dropped
to the $200 range.

Did you ever find out why things had been done that way?

Jeff

Yes turns out one of the neighbors was the original "developer" of all the
land. He at one time was trying to build a resort. Hence the service with
fusible disconnects. Time went by and he "forgot" that there was a need for
him to get his own electrical service. The water was shared by all of the
parcels. The other property owners took him to court and he got his hand
slapped. As near as I could find out it had been that way for 10-12 years.
I guess the previous owner just did not notice or care about the electric
bill.