Brit Expat Left Powerless Due To Next Door Cannabis Plantation

An unfortunate British expat in the Spanish resort community of Finestrat just outside Benidorm has no power as local workers confused his meter with the one supplying the next-door marijuana plantation.

Workers from Spain’s electricity provider Iberdrola arrived at the home of British expat Steve Knight, armed with an order to cut off the supply to the adjacent property, believed to be housing a marijuana plantation. Steve had already recognised the pungent smell from the cannabis plants, but left well alone. His suspicions were confirmed when the next-door property had its electricity cut off, followed by a late-night visit by the tenant and several friends to clear out the contents of the house.

The following day, Steve noted power company employees digging a hole below the neighbour’s electricity supply box, but thought nothing of it. The workers returned the next day and began inspecting three power boxes including Steve’s. Almost immediately, Steve realised he had no electricity and asked the workers how long it would be out. Power outages are common in the area but, after 10 minutes or so, he asked the workers when his electricity would come back on. He was told to ‘contact Iberola’ and the workers then left.

Later, the by then totally confused expat opened his electricity box, only to find his meter had been taken away, although those to other properties including the marijuana property were still there. On visiting the local town hall, Steve was shown a photo of an illegally connected cable sent by the electricity supply company, showing his electricity box rather than that of his marijuana-growing ex-neighbour. He was told he’d have to pay €5,630 to be reconnected, plus the costs of proving his innocence. Since then, Steve has arranged for an electrician approved by the power company plus one of the company’s representatives to inspect his box in order to prove he’d never interfered with the cable. As yet the results of this inspection aren’t known, but Steve’s reaction to the entire mess is just one word – ‘incredible’.