news

한어Русский языкEnglishFrançaisIndonesianSanskrit日本語DeutschPortuguêsΕλληνικάespañolItalianoSuomalainenLatina

"i pay my electricity bill on time every month, so how come i owe more than 500,000 yuan?" mr. liu, a wuhan citizen, reported to jiupai news reporter (wechat: jpbangmang) that the internet cafe he operates recently had its power suddenly cut off by the property management. the other party said that after inspection, there was a problem with the internet cafe's electricity meter. the previous owner of the internet cafe started "stealing electricity" when it was running the business. there has been a large amount of electricity loss over the years, resulting in an outstanding electricity bill of 510,000 yuan that needs to be paid.

mr. liu's internet cafe. photo/jiupai news

[1] internet cafe owner: the management team came to me with the estimated data, but in reality, we don’t use that much electricity.

mr. liu introduced that the internet cafe he took over in 2021 is located in jinhe garden community, wuhan economic and technological development zone, and the property is wuhan century wanda property management co., ltd.

mr. liu told reporters that on august 8, the internet cafe was being renovated, and the property staff cut the wires in the meter box without prior notice, interrupting the power supply. mr. liu believes that the property management did this because the two sides had not reached an agreement on how to deal with the 510,000 yuan bill in the past year.

electricity meter in an internet cafe. photo/jiupai news

mr. liu said that around july last year, the property staff removed the meter for testing and later said that there was a problem with the meter. he provided the reporter with a statistical table of electricity loss issued by the property, which showed that according to "estimates", the internet cafe's abnormal electricity loss from february 2018 to july 2023 was more than 600,000 kwh, causing economic losses of more than 510,000 yuan to the property.

mr. liu felt wronged. he said that the meter was provided and installed by the property management when the previous owner was in business, and he had never touched it since he took over, so it was impossible for him to tamper with it. in addition, he believed that the electricity bill he paid on time every month was in line with the scale of the internet cafe. "for example, i have 50 computers here. according to our industry experience, the maximum monthly electricity bill is just over 3,000 yuan, which is not enough to catch up with the amount of arrears given by the property management."

【2】property management: the specific amount of electricity loss and the amount of outstanding fees have yet to be calculated. we are not sure whether there are other households stealing electricity. the police have filed a case.

the staff of the power supply company told mr. liu that when the property discovered the problem, it did not seek help from the power supply company, but unilaterally completed the evidence collection. at present, there is no first scene and it is impossible to verify the relevant situation.

previously, the internet cafe was run by a man named zhou, who told reporters that he was not sure whether there was a problem with the meter. as he had not seen the inspection report on the meter and power loss from an authoritative agency, mr. liu did not recognize the bill.

over the past year, the two parties have not reached an agreement on the amount of back pay. "i took over midway, so the responsibility is not entirely mine. i hope to go through legal procedures to clarify the relevant responsibilities, but it is inappropriate to cut off the power supply before a conclusion has been reached," said mr. liu.

ms. lian, the property project manager, said that there were other reasons for cutting off the power supply to the internet cafe and it was a last resort.

property office. photo/jiupai news

"we always respect their right to use electricity." ms. lian said that after discovering the internet cafe "stealing electricity" last year, the power was not immediately cut off. now the property management has discovered that the internet cafe privately connected wires to the public area. in addition, she also said that the meter used by the internet cafe was inaccurate, resulting in a large amount of power loss. since the property management collected and paid the electricity bill on behalf of the internet cafe, it has now caused huge economic losses. the internet cafe has not paid the fees in the past year, so the power was cut off to stop the loss in time.

however, she said that the specific data of "electricity theft" in internet cafes still needs further calculation by professional institutions, and the specific amount cannot be determined for the time being.

to further prove that the property was indeed the victim of power theft, ms. lian showed the reporter a police case filing notice, which showed that in december last year, the police opened an investigation into the theft of power at wanda properties.

although the property management believes that the internet cafe "stole electricity", ms. lian cannot be sure whether it was mr. liu who did it, and she is still waiting for the results of the police investigation. she also said that the electricity usage environment in the area where the internet cafe is located is relatively poor, "i'm not sure if there are other companies that do this besides them."

"the electricity loss and arrears have yet to be calculated. there is no basis for asking me to pay the additional money now, and there is no evidence that i was the one who stole the electricity. what reason does the property management have to cut off my electricity?" mr. liu said that the power supply and housing management departments have recently intervened in mediation, and both asked the property management to restore power supply.

【3】residential and guard bureau: the property management company has been asked to restore power supply. if the rectification is not carried out on time, penalties will be imposed.

on august 23, a staff member of the property management office of the wuhan economic development zone housing bureau told reporters that a rectification notice had been issued to the property company, requiring it to restore power to the internet cafe within the rectification period. if it fails to rectify on time, it will be punished. "we suggest that the property company safeguard its legitimate rights and interests through judicial procedures," he said.

during the negotiation process, the reporter suggested that both parties put aside the dispute, restore power supply first, and then negotiate further after the matter is settled. the property manager, ms. lian, did not agree.

on september 2, mr. liu told reporters that the internet cafe still had not restored power and could no longer operate, making it difficult to fulfill its lease and service contract with the property. he was considering resolving the matter by filing a lawsuit in court.

jiupai news reporter song weiqi