Is an unlocked, powered up outlet free game?

[rainnw]

There hasn't been much talk (from what i gather) regarding what could possibly be a sore issue.

There are plenty of powered up, unlocked, and available outlets in various parking garages and parking lots. We even have a couple dual gang 20A 110V circuits scattered about in our work parking garage.

At what point is plugging in considered theft? is $0.50 of electricity usage a felony? How have people made arrangements with employers regarding this?

I'd imagine since it is unmetered, most would be a bit nervous to grant free access.

[mitch672]

Your only going to draw 1.5KW/hour maximum from those outlets (13A @ 120V), so @ .15/KWh, you are looking at less than .25 per hour cost. an entire 8 hour work day would cost $2.00, I don't think anyone would notice on most commercial bills.

[Carlos]

I can see the headline now......
LEAF owner charged with electricity theft.... In SoCal that could only mean one thing.
All you need is a politically motivated, anti EV, District Attorney, and there ya go!
There may be some confusion until everyone recognizes that the LEAF doesn't come in the color GREEN.

Pot dispensary owner pleads guilty to electricity theft

http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_15106345

"This case is a perfect of how illegal marijuana dispensaries spawn additional crimes,"
District Attorney Steve Cooley said in a statement.

[DarkStar]

There hasn't been much talk (from what i gather) regarding what could possibly be a sore issue.

There are plenty of powered up, unlocked, and available outlets in various parking garages and parking lots. We even have a couple dual gang 20A 110V circuits scattered about in our work parking garage.

At what point is plugging in considered theft? is $0.50 of electricity usage a felony? How have people made arrangements with employers regarding this?

I'd imagine since it is unmetered, most would be a bit nervous to grant free access.

If you are parking at a location where a power outlet is prominently located, unlocked, and has no signage to the contrary, I believe that it would be perfectly acceptable to plug into it (think about motor block heaters in Canada and Alaska).

It would be the same as going to a cafe, sitting down, opening up my laptop, seeing an unsecured wireless access point, and connecting to it to use the Internet (at least in Oregon that is legal, YMMV). Unless there is either a notification to the contrary or a reasonable effort has been made to secure the wireless access point, it is considered to be for public access.

Now, if you park at a business and they later find out and request that you no longer plug in, and you keep plugging in, you can definitely receive a citation for trespassing, if not theft of services also. If I plugged in somewhere and was later told not to, I would probably use it as an opportunity to educate the business owner on electric vehicles and how I could help them develop a plan for charging to increase business (and profits)!

The owner of the business I work at is excited about me driving an electric car and told me I was more than welcome to plug into any of the various outlets around the complex. If a customer stopped by in an electric car, the welcome mat would be rolled out for them to plug in!

[smkettner]

I would presume it was placed there for my convenience until otherwise noted.

[DaveinOlyWA]

this reminds me of a situation. here in Lacey, most of the downtown area has trees lining the street. problem is the trees aneare surrounded by concrete sidewalks. next to each tree is an outlet.

the outlets are used to power electric blowers, trimmers, etc. well, since there was no sign that said i could not plug in, i did once just to see if it could be done.

now, none of these outlets are near parking lots so it was a bit of a stretch to plug in....a 50 foot extension cord stretch to be exact!!

[garygid]

An extension cord across public walking areas would likely be a safety hazard, right?

[LakeLeaf]

Step 1: Print up stickers that say "Electric Vehicle Charging"
(is that a statement of permission, or simply an observation?)

Step 2: Find power outlet in public infrastructure

Step 3: Carefully look around for webcams

Step 4: If no webcams, put sticker above outlet

Step 5: Plug in!

[ttweed]

this reminds me of a situation. here in Lacey, most of the downtown area has trees lining the street. problem is the trees aneare surrounded by concrete sidewalks. next to each tree is an outlet.

the outlets are used to power electric blowers, trimmers, etc. well, since there was no sign that said i could not plug in, i did once just to see if it could be done.

We had a similar situation here in San Diego, where street outlets installed for a farmer's market area in downtown Ocean Beach were being "plundered" for electricity, so the city is installing tamper-proof outlets.

TT

[smkettner]

50' extension cord is pushing it. But for the length of the included evse cord I would plug in at the tree.

How exactly were outlets in SD getting plundered? Were RVs parking for the day and wheezing all the juice?