Downey : Electricity Theft Draws Fine

A Downey Municipal Court judge has placed a city businessman on probation for one year and ordered him to pay $2,000 in fines and restitution for stealing electricity from Southern California Edison Co.

Gerald R. Pigg, a contractor and president of Turnkey Construction & Engineering Inc., pleaded guilty to one count of misdemeanor electricity theft during a pretrial hearing Dec. 2, according to court records. At the hearing, Downey Municipal Judge Donald Wilson fined Pigg $180 and ordered him to pay Edison $2,021.

An Edison spokesman said that utility workers found that electric service had been tampered with at the contractor’s home and business on 9434 Klinedale Ave. Specifically, equipment had been installed that caused the flow of electricity to bypass the meter, said Jim Flora, Edison area manager.

“Edison is making every effort to catch energy thieves and prosecute them because if the thefts go undetected, honest customers are forced to pay higher electric bills,” Flora said.