Illegal marijuana plantations consume the same amount of electricity per year as a city like Seville

The marijuana plantations discovered in Spain illegally spent in 2022 current equivalent to the annual consumption of a city like Seville, according to the author’s report Endesawhich revealed an increase in this fraud of 7.8% compared to 2021. Endesa, through its subsidiary Redes e-distribución, revealed that illegal connections related to these crops represent 28% of fraudulent energy in cases detected last year in the country, “which shows the high consumption of these facilities and the disruptions they create in the electricity distribution network of the areas where they are located”.

Inspections based on citizen complaints due to suspected fraud increased by 75% in 2022, reaching 21,195. In the last three years, Endesa recorded almost 190,000 cases of electricity fraud, and last year alone, 55,167 files were closed, which represents an average of more than 150 per day, with the growing weight of cases related to marijuana plantations.

Estimates show that the annual consumption of illegal electricity to power these marijuana plantations amounts to 2,200 gigawatt hours, which is “equivalent to the consumption of the city of Seville in one year.” The report explains this each plantation consumes an average of about 80 homessince lighting and ventilation systems used to accelerate plant growth need electricity 24 hours a day and obtain it through illegal connections that cause situations of high electrical risk.

These overloads cause underground lines and even transformation centers to burn, affecting residents of nearby areas.

During the last year, in cooperation with the security forces, Endesa dismantled about 1,800 false couplings for feeding the plantations, which is an average of five per day.

“These figures show the scale of an illegal practice that seriously threatens the safety of citizens, causes the deterioration of the quality of supply to residents and makes the bill more expensive for all consumers,” said Endesa Networks General Manager, José Manuel Revuelta.

Endesa warns that electrical frauds cause significant damage in the environments in which they occur, as they cause power outages in areas of high saturation, fires and discharges, which can affect the person handling the electrical installation and those around him with very serious consequences. which can even lead to death.

He points out that these problems are particularly evident in areas where fraud related to marijuana plantations in homes or buildings is concentrated, known as in a closed space. Let’s remind, according to the data from Statistical yearbook of the Ministry of the InteriorIn 2021, more than 3.3 million cannabis plants were seized in Spain, 96% more than the previous year and 240% more than 2018, of which a significant part corresponded to plantations in a closed space.