The law applies, for instance, in cases of bypassing an electricity meter, reconnecting a disconnected meter, plugging an electronic device into a socket without permission, or unlawfully obtaining a free telephone call.
In Low v Blease [1975] Crim LR 513, it was held that electricity could not be stolen as it is not property within the meaning of section 4 of the Theft Act 1968.
The following cases are relevant:[5] The applicable mens rea is dishonesty, as interpreted objectively following Ivey v Genting Casinos.
[15] Section 10 of the Larceny Act 1916 provided: Every person who maliciously or fraudulently abstracts, causes to be wasted or diverted, consumes or uses any electricity shall be guilty of felony, and on conviction thereof liable to be punished as in the case of simple larceny.In one reported case in London in 2015, a man was arrested for abstracting electricity (to the value of £0.00052) by charging his mobile telephone on a London Overground train, but he was ultimately not charged.
[16][17] In 2018, London Overground introduced mobile charging sockets on its trains for public use.