In some states(cali) powerbills are tiered so the more you use the more you pay.I think my bottom tier is like 11 cents but it jumps to 45 real fast,4k flower w/24,000 btu mini and a 1k veg with 12,000 btu mini will have you very near 1500+ a month in a tiered state,same thing might be 3-400 in a non tiered state so these discussions are worthless without knowing if your tiered and how much per KW hour you pay.
As a side note ive never heard of anyone around me getting busted for a high power bill,just pay up on time and they will gladly keep taking it,I know people that are around 15-20k per month.
One more thing phoenix,There is no such thing as fully legal,Even in a legal state with a state approved/inspected grow you are still breaking federal law,something to keep in mind.
No matter what anyone tells you and with new technologies such as smart meters and the era of software All power companies monitor and record house hold electrical usage .. I for one was red flagged for unusual power consumption ..
To think that most busts occur from rats its also fact that your power bill water usage and all utilities is public meaning anyone can get info on a property
The LEO goes by district attorny's idea meaning following everything from investigations to actual warrants to power companies they really do not need to but its a cover there ass approach ..
So as the case progresses into court there is no loop holes .. they are going to hang you
Dont kid your self water companies , power companies are monitoring your usage and will in fact flag you and possibly even have a service tech come take a look .
what happened to me is i got a call from power company stating my over usage and unusual usage ..
This is where you better have a good excuse if not you can surely bet cops just might come knocking ..
my Excuse was as i have oil furnace that oil prices out weight the price of power so i placed 1000 watt heaters in all rooms instead of buying oil,, THey bought it and everything is good Also its there moral responsibility to inform police of unusual usage
even if customer is paying bills on time