CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

INTRODUCTION

Illegal connection is the drawing or tapping of power from the Electrical

mains without official approval or the unauthorized reconnection of officially

disconnected premises. Illegal connections are dangerous, hazardous and can

caused electrocution. It may benefit those who steal electricity but most of the

time illegal connections are also endanger of getting electrocuted. Some of the

effects of illegal connection are, overloading of transformers and lines, poor

electricity supply of the premises, possible damage to electrical appliances and

risk of fire outbreak on the premises.

Illegal connections caused unnecessary power failures/ outages that over-

stretch our resources slowing down our service delivery to legal power users.

1Illegal usage of electricity is a common practice in many parts of the world.

The issue now has primary attention of governments because of substantial

costs associated with it. Although there are strict penalties for stealing electricity,

electricity theft permeates the world and concerns legislators and politicians who

try to reduce this practice.

2Illegal connections are not safe as they are usually done by unqualified

people who not only risk electrocuting themselves, but also expose other people

to danger and the risk of injury and death if they make contact with the

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connection. Not only is this dangerous for the individual making the connection,

but it also put the rest of the community at risk because they connections lie

across pathways and walkways where anyone passing by can easily be

electrocuted. An additional risk is that illegally connected wires can also make

contact with the other items such as roofs, gutters, and washing lines, making

this items live and able to conduct electricity.

One of the problems in electricity transmission and distribution is the

system loss that mainly caused by the electricity pilferage. Electricity pilferage is

an on going problem for every electricity providers as well to the costumers. Most

cases of electricity pilferage occur when violators physically alter the mechanism

inside their power meters or by tapping to the main power lines. The most basic

method of stealing electricity is the direct wire-connection to a main power route

passing by a house or shop so that electricity can flow to the consumer without

causing the electric meter installed by a govermentaly agency which is

responsible for providing electric services to costumers. Other methods may

include opening the meter itself, without damaging it seals and reversing the

dials, a complicated procedure that requires expert skill. There are various types

of electrical power pilferage done in all over the world.

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 NOTES

Vander (Nov.11, 2018)

http://etd.library.vandervilt.edu/available/etd-11271013-

094111/unrestricted/Marangoz.pdf

Bragais, Evaristo lll P.,Gendrano Darren Mark M. Pilotos John Philip D.(Oct.4,

2004)

http://www.scribd.com/document/260855468/thesis-format

3
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This research study aims to identify the Possible Effects of Illegal

Connections or “Jumper” in Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay.

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. What are the reasons of the people who are doing illegal connections?

2. What are the possible effects of illegal connections or jumper?

3. What is the best way to convince the people to avoid illegal connections?

HYPOTHESIS

This study will provides information about the Possible Effects of Illegal

Connections or “Jumper” in Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay, the

assumptions in this study includes:

1. The respondents will answer the questions truthfully and honestly.

2. The respondents will participate well during the data gathering.

3. The researchers will gain the adequate information regarding the

study for the analysis.

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SCOPE AND DELIMITATION

This research aimed to look for the effect of illegal connections. It will be

conducted to the people in Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay, respectively, or

the respondents to be aware of the Possible Effects of Illegal Connections or

“Jumper”, although this will be used as basis for other similar researchers.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study can be potentially used by other people for them to have the

knowledge about the Possible Effects of Illegal Connections or “Jumper” in

Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay.

This study will be beneficial to the following:

STUDENTS This study can help the students to have more knowledge

about the illegal connections.

TEACHERS This study can help the teacher to have an idea on how to

solve the effects of illegal connection.

PARENTS They can have the knowledge about the possible effects of

illegal connections.

RESEARCHERS The researchers gained the knowledge about the study

and will provide further information to others.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS This study can be used as a basis related to

their study.

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DEFINITION OF TERMS

TAPPING – The act, process or means by which something is tapped.

ELECTROCUTION – To kill by electric shock.

THEFT – The act or crime of stealing.

LEGISLATOR – A person who makes laws, a member of a legislature.

TRANSMISSION – The actor process of sending electrical signals to a radio,

television, computer, etc.

FATALITY – A death that results from a disaster, accident, etc.

PERPETRATORS – Something that is illegal or wrong.

ILLEGAL – Not allowed by law.

BRIBERY – The act or crime giving or accepting a bribe.

CONNECTION – Something that joins or connects two or more things.

ELECTRICITY – A form of energy that is carried through wires or electric current

or power.

DECELERATES – To cause or something to happen more slowly.

PILFERAGE – To steal things that are not very valuable or to steal a small

amount of something.

VIOLATOR – To do something that is not allowed by.

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 CHAPTER 2

RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

RELATED LITERATURE

1According to Nielsen (2012), illegal electricity usage as a positive

correlations with the rate of illiteracy and with the regular events of violence, such

as terrorism. If the illiteracy rate and terrorist events in a region or city are higher,

illegal electricity usage is expected to be higher because high illiteracy and

terrorism usually indicate low income in that region or city. Investment to a city or

region are substantially discourage if the place does not have qualified workers

or a secure environment. Studies in the literature support these expectations.

The most recent study on electricity theft was done in Brazil (Steadman,2010).

These studies were undertaken to see if their were any associations between

non-technical loses and socio-economic conditions. The results of this studies

indicate that the regions with higher murder rates and lower households incomes

are using more illegal electricity. Therefore, crime causes crime. The hypothesis

presented here is that more terrorist activity means higher illegal electricity

usage.

2Detection and localization of illegal electricity usage are important issue

for power distribution companies. In order to detect illegal electricity usage,

network current-based methods using smart meters were mostly used in

previous researchers. The main disadvantages of those methods are that they

are unable to detect the exact location of illegal electricity usage. In addition, all

7
users must be disconnected from the power system to detect the exact location.

In this research, an inspection robot proposed for detecting and localizing of

illegal electricity usage. The inspection robot can define location of illegal

electricity usage on the air transmission line without disconnecting the end user’s

electric connection. In addition, this method can indicate fault location of

transmission line. This paper presents a novel mobile sensing-based localization

method for illegal electricity usage by using an inspection robot, and it is verified

through simulation and experiment results.

3Power line communications (PLC) presents an interesting and

economical solution for automatic meter reading (AMR). If AMR system via PLC

is set in a power delivery system, a detection system for illegal electricity usage

may be easily added in the existing PLC network. In the detection system, the

second digitally energy meter chip is used and the value of energy is stored. The

recorded energy is compared with the value at the main kWh meter. In the case

of the difference between two recorded energy data, an error signal is generated

and transmitted via PLC network. The detector and control system is proposed.

The architecture of the system and their critical components are given. The

measurement results obtained from Turkey’s power lines are given. This paper

describes a prototype of the detector system for illegal electricity usage using the

power lines. The target of this study is to discover new and possible solutions for

the lack of literature concerning this problem.

4According to Alex Stramrood (2015), Eskom’s corporate occupational

health and safety operations manager, annually lives are lost as a result of illegal

8
and unsafe use of electricity. “We believe that one injury or fatality as a result of

the unsafe use of electricity is one too many. We have identified that the biggest

contributors to electrical accident, injuries and fatalities are contact with low-

hanging conductors, unsafe connections, vandalism, illegal power connections

and cable theft,” he said. That was the message Brigadier Francis Bantham had

for the community in the light o Eskom’s National Electricity Safety Week which

runs from 11 to 17 August. “There have been a number of fatalities in the

Mountain Rise policing area due to illegal connections of electricity. Perpetrators,

who are involved in illegal connections, will be apprehended and formally

charged. Every caution must be taken by the community in order to stop further

fatalities. I am urging the community to partner with the police and report illegal

connections, by doing this you will be saving people’s lives,” said Bantham.

5According to Johannesburg (2014), during Eskom National Electricity

Safety Week, the country’s power utility aims to educate and inform the public on

the risks associated with the practice of illegal connections and how to saty safe

in the home and out. “We have identified that the biggest contributors to electrical

accidents, injuries, and fatalities in South Africa are contact with low-hanging,

unsafe connections, vandalism, illegal power connections and cable theft. An

electricity connections is considered illegal when any connection is made to the

ESKOM network without ESKOM’s permission. This can range from connecting

to a mini-substation to connecting a neighbour through your personal meter or

electricity board.

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 “For many Philippines residents living without electricity, connecting

illegally to the ESKOM or municipal power network seems like a viable solution.

But, too often, innocent people lose their lives due to electricity theft,” Eskom said

in a statement issued on Wednesday. “The saddest and most concerning part for

Eskom is that it is often children who are electrocuted and fatally injured when

they unwittingly touch carelessly laid cables left by those who steal electricity.”

RELATED STUDIES

6According to Smith (2004), there are four known strategies to connect

electricity illegally to: hookups, meter tampering, billing regularities and unpaid

bills. First, illegal hookups are used for connecting electric wires to the power

systems are places such as a home or a firm. This type of illegal electricity usage

is very common, and it has high risk of fire. The second way is meter tampering.

This method decelerates the spinning disk, which recirds how much electricity is

used. This method is not frequently observed among poor people or regions

primarily because it requires technical knowledge. The third way is through

various billing irregularities and usually involves bribery. Costumers may choose

to offer bribes to an officers to reduce their electric bills. This method is not

common in poor regions. The last method is the unpaid bill.

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THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF
ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS
OR "JUMPER" IN
BARANGAY, LANIGAY,
POLANGUI, ALBAY.

11
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF ILLEGAL CONNECTIONS OR “JUMPER” IN BARANGAY,

LANIGAY, POLANGUI, ALBAY

12
 NOTES

1Nielsen, Stephan (2012), “Smart Meters Help Brazil Zap Electricity Theft,’

Businessweek, March 08, 2012. Accessed October 21, 2012.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-08/smartmeter- help-brazil-zap-

electricity-theft

2Mandakh Oyun-Erdene, Bat-Erdene Byambasuren, Eric T. Matson, Donghan K.

(May 11, 2014)

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11042-014-2022-2

3I.H Cavdar (June 6-10, 2004)

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1372955/

4Nicole John (2015)- August 8, 2015

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/Maritzburg-Fever/Report-illegal-

electricity-theft-20150811

5Johannesburg (2014)- August 13, 2014

http://www.fin24.com/Economy/Eskom-focuses-on-illegal-connections-20140813

6Smith, Thomas B. (2004),”Electricity Theft: comparative analysis,” Energy Policy

32 (2004): 2067-2076. Accessed November 1,2012, doi:10.1016/s0301-

(03)00182-4 (November 1, 2012)

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 CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH DESIGN

This chapter presents and discusses the research method of the study,

respondents, sampling technique, research instruments, data gathering

procedure and statistical treatment used by the researchers in conducting the

study.

RESEARCH METHOD

This study employs descriptive method that is a non-experimental research

design. The descriptive method will help the researcher in assessing the Possible

Effects of Illegal Connection or “Jumper” in Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay.

RESPONDENTS

In this study, every zone in Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay, have five

(5) persons that answer our questionnaire, they are the participants in the study.

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SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

The selection of the participants in this study was uncomplicated simple

random sampling was utilized in this research study. The researchers picked five

(5) random person in every zone in Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay.

RESEARCH INSTRUMENT

The instrument used was a researcher-made questionnaire to gather the

needed data. In the preparation of the instrument, the requirement in the

designing of good data collection instrument were considered open-ended

options were provided to accommodate to free formatted views related to the

topics or issues. The instrument was validated before it is laid on the study.

DATA GATHERING PROCEDURE

The researchers prepared a letter of request to the barangay captain and

to the principal of the school. The survey-questionnaires were reproduce and

then distributed to the people of Barangay, Lanigay, Polangui, Albay, in every

zone who are the primary sources of the study.

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STATISTICAL TREATMENT

P=F/N*100%

Where :

P=percentage

F=frequency

N=total number of respondents

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 CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

This chapter presents the analysis and interpretation of the data gathered

regarding to the Possible Effects of Illegal Connections or “Jumper”, in Barangay,

Lanigay, Polangui, Albay.

TABLE 1

1. What are the reasons of the people who are doing illegal connections?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. To lessen the rate of 12 40%

electric consumptions.

b. Because of poverty 8 27%

and needs.

c. Because there is no

chargeable in the 10 33%

consume current every

month.

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “a” that have 40%,

while on “b” have 27%. It means that the reason of the people who are doing

illegal connections is to lessen the rate of electric consumptions.

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 TABLE 2

2. What are the possible effects of illegal connections or jumper?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. They can be able to 12 40%

charge and arrested.

b. Punishable. 13 43%

c. Imprisonment. 5 17%

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “b” that have 43%,

while on “c” have 17%. It means that the possible effects of illegal connections

will be punishable.

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 TABLE 3

3. What is the best way to convince the people to avoid illegal connections?

CHOICE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. Orientation.

6 20%

b. Regularly pay the

consumed current or 9 30%

bill.

c. Economize on 15 50%

consuming electric

power.

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “c” that have 50%,

while on “a” have 20%. It means that the best way to convince the people to

avoid illegal connections is to economize on consuming electric power..

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 TABLE 4

4. Who among the people in the society frequently commit jumper?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. Poor people. 13 43%

b. Big Companies. 12 40%

c. Unregistered

consumers. 5 17%

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “a” that have 43%,

while on “a” have 17%. It means that the poor people in the society frequently

commit illegal connections.

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 TABLE 5

5. Is it okay to commit illegal connections?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. To install temporary

power during night 3 10%

hour.

b. No, because it is 11 37%

illegal.

c. No, punishable by

law. 16 53%

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “c” that have 53%,

while on “a” have 10%. It means that illegal connections is not okay to commit

because it is punishable by law.

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 TABLE 6

6. As an individual, what can you do if there is a jumper on your areas?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

A. Report to the 11 37%

authority.

b. We used make good 17 57%

conversation first.

c. Just warn the 2 6%

person.

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “b” that have 57%,

while on “c” have 6%. It means that the best way you can do if there is a jumper

on your areas is to make a good conversation first.

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 TABLE 7

7. Do you know the laws about illegal connections?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. Yes, because it is 17 57%

illegal and punishable

by law.

b. No, we are not or 2 6%

familiar the laws.

c. Yes, because it is be

possible to imprison. 11 37%

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “a” that have 57%,

while on “b” have 6%. It means that the most of the people in Barangay, Lanigay,

Polangui, Albay, know the laws in illegal connections because it is an illegal and

punishable by law.

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 TABLE 8

8. If the consumption charges is lowered, do you think we can avoid illegal

connections?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. Yes, because we

can pay the charge 19 63%

regularly.

b. No, because if we

do the jumper, we will

not oblige to pay the 6 20%

consumed power.

c. Depend on the

chargeable costs or 5 17%

bill.

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “a” that have 63%,

while on “c” have 17%. It means that if the consumption charges is lowered, they

can avoid the illegal connections because they can pay the charge regularly.

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 TABLE 9

9. For example on the situation that you bereaved your current because you did

not pay the bill on the due date. Do you think it is right to do jumper even if you

know that it is prohibited? Why?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. Yes, because we

don’t have any bill to 8 27%

pay every month.

b. No, because it is not 8 27%

acceptable.

c. No, because there is 14 46%

a penalty if you do it.

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “c” that have 46%,

while on “a” and “b” have 27%. It means that it’s not right to do jumper because

there is a penalty if they do illegal connections.

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 TABLE 10

10. What are the possible things to avoid the meter disconnection?

CHOICES FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE

a. Find a good job. 16 53%

b. Economize the 14 47%

current charge.

c. Borrow cash to pay 0 0%

the bill.

TOTAL 30 100%

In this table, mostly number of respondents answered on “a” that have 53%,

while on “b” have 47%. It means that the possible things to do to avoid the

current lost is to find a good job.

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 CHAPTER 5

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter present the summary of the study, the conclusions drawn,

and recommendations of the researchers from the findings and analysis of the

study.

SUMMARY

The study of the researchers about the Possible Effects of Illegal

Connections or Jumper, discovered that there no good result to the people who

are doing illegal connections and it will become the result of being arrested if you

are doing the jumper.

Because of this, the researcher study improved about this kind of a

problem. And in the long time, the researchers get the information they needed.

The survey questionnaire was developed by the researchers to obtain reliable

assessment results needed to answer the research problem raised. The data

gathered from the researcher-made survey questionnaire were tallied, analyzed

and interpreted.

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CONCLUSIONS

1. The reasons of the people who are doing illegal connections is lessen the rate

of electric charge.

2. The possible effects of illegal connections to them is to give there a

punishment.

3. The best way to convince the people to avoid illegal connections is to

economized on consume electric power.

4. Among the people in the society frequently commit illegal connections are the

poor people.

5. According to the respondents it should not be right to do illegal connections

because it is punishable by law.

6. As an individual, he or she can make good conversation first if there is a

jumper on their areas.

7. They know the laws about illegal connections because it is illegal and

punishable by law.

8. If the consumption charges is lowered, they can avoid the jumper because

they can pay the charge regularly.

9. If a person is on the situation that they lost their current because they can’t pay

the costs, they can’t do jumper because there is a penalty and punishments if

they do illegal connections.

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10. The possible things to avoid the meter disconnection is to find a better and

good job.

29
RECOMMENDATION

1. Administration should implement a considerable rate charges on consumption

rate.

2. Economize on consuming electric power.

3. Always pay regularly your energy consumption bills.

4. The barangay officials must give more attentions to the people who are doing

illegal connections to avoid the possible effects and accidents.

5. Formulate or create an additional punishment to those who will commit illegal

connections.

6. The government may give additional employment to the people who needs

jobs to meet their daily expenses and needs.

7. Execute surveillance to every cooperative of the country to this kind of

violation.

8. The officials of the barangay should give some warning about illegal

connections.

9. Give a necessary actions to the person who is being arrested.

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