The electricity company Endesa opened a file yesterday that has led to a complaint to the Mossos d'Esquadra against the Mercury Hotel in Santa Susanna (Maresme) when verifying by an artificial intelligence system that it committed fraud in the electricity supply meter.
Precisely, yesterday around 12 noon, company technicians went to the hotel to proceed to disable the bypass of the tampered counter with which the tourist establishment's facilities worked, with which this entails a risk for clients since could produce a deflagration caused by a short circuit.
Endesa sources indicate that the fraud in the electric meter has been located in a by-pass that minimizes the reading of consumption, so much less is paid for electricity supply. It is a fraud with a clear criminal intent since someone with technical knowledge is required to manipulate the counter.
At the time the technicians proceeded to interrupt the electricity supply, some 500 people were staying at the hotel, most of the Imserso service, who were informed by the establishment's management that it was a one-time breakdown, which insists on deny the power company.
At the time of closing this publication, Endesa reported that around 8:00 p.m. the customer had urgently normalized the supply, so they proceeded to restore electricity. Over the next few days, the supply company will issue the billing corresponding to the energy that has stopped paying.
For their part, municipal sources claimed to be unaware of the facts since a breakdown was reported at all times from the hotel. In 2022, in the Maresme region, 1,331 files were opened for fraud, with which 19,375 kilowatts per hour (kWh) were recovered. In Santa Susanna, according to Endesa, last year 35 files were investigated for fraud, of which five were related to marijuana plantations.
