FEC: Man stole power off grid, with jumper cables

A Columbia Falls man was charged with stealing nearly $10,000 of electricity from the Flathead Electric Cooperative for two and a half years.

Tim Wayne Bauer, 48, pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of theft earlier this month in Flathead County Court. 

A FEC employee reported to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office in January last year that a Columbia Meadows Drive residence was illegally hooked up to the grid, according to court documents. An enclosed area on the property contained a utility pedestal that was transmitting electricity via jumper cables. FEC had shut off power to the property in May 2012 for non-payment of utilities. FEC estimated that approximately $9,664.44 worth of electricity had been used on the property since then without payment.

The offense is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in the state prison, a fine of $50,000 and possibly restitution. Bauer was charged in 2013 for stripping electrical parts out of trucks and logging equipment belonging to F. H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co.

A jury trial is set for August.