Ala. Code § 13A-8-23 (1975) Tampering With Availability of Gas, Electricity, Or Water

• Library: Alabama Statutes
• Edition: 2023
• Currency: Current with legislation from the 2023 Regular and Special Sessions.
• Year: 2023
• Citation: Ala. Code § 13A-8-23 (1975)

(a) The following terms shall have the meanings ascribed thereto unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) OWNER. Includes any part owner, joint owner, tenant-in-common, joint tenant, or tenant by the entirety of the whole or part of any building.

(2) PERSON. Includes a corporation, firm, company, or association.

(3) TENANT or OCCUPANT. Shall include any person who occupies the whole or a part of any building whether alone or with others and shall include the owner.

(4) UTILITY. Any public or private utility authorized to provide electricity, natural gas, or water or any combination thereof for sale to consumers in any particular service area.

(5) UTILITY SERVICES. The products, commodities, and services provided by a utility to its customers.

(b) It shall be unlawful for a tenant, occupant, or any other person to commit any of the following acts which could, or in fact does, make gas, electricity, or water unlawfully available to such tenant, occupant, or person, or to another:

(1) To connect any tube, pipe, wire, or other instrument with any meter, device, or other instrument used for conducting gas, electricity, or water in such a manner as to permit the use of said gas, electricity, or water without the same passing through a meter or other instrument recording the usage for billing.

(2) To alter, injure, turn on, or prevent the action of a meter, valve, stopcock, or other instrument used for measuring quantities of gas, electricity, or water.

(3) To break, deface, or cause to be broken or defaced any seal, locking device, or other parts that make up a metering device for recording usage of gas, electricity, or water or a security system for the recording device.

(4) To remove a metering device for measuring quantities of gas, electricity, or water.

(5) To transfer from one location to another a metering device for measuring utilities of gas, electricity, or water.