A word of warning people....we have had our electricity supply cut off !!!
Situation is that we have a legal meter, but someone had tapped into our supply below ground so that they cannot be detected, and hence we have been disconnected. There are two other legal meters feeding other houses in our street of seven, but they too had illegal taps and as such have been disconnected. We need to have a new connection made below ground to the post in such a way that our supply cannot be tampered with, and if it is we can report the culprits to the police. I had sympathised with neighbours who had no meters and had also paid no bills, but no more !!!
Check your meters if you know there are others without elex in your vicinity, or properties being built adjacent !!!

We are really sorry to hear that poollounger.

As you may know we have been without electricity since February, fortunately we do not live there and can make do with a generator and candles on our frequent visits. We have tried numerous routes to get electricity but so far failed now considering buying a transformer from Endessa, but hey how many would then hook up to that.

Do you know who the culprits were. English, Spanish or both?

I think the situation is complex Flamingo. Our house is in a cul de sac and our neighbour, English, arrived to live there permanently in October, when we were last visiting. he has elex but no meter or bills, and has been trying to sort it out for the last two years since he bought his house. He and his wife stressed at all stages of their purchase that they would not proceed without a legal meter, even in the notary's office, and they were assured that it would not be a problem. He has not paid a penny for all this time. I believe him when he said that he had no idea where he was connected, but was concerned. One of the houses has recently changed hands, and the new Spanish owner contacted Endesa who told him there were only two legal meters amongst the seven houses, but a new hub could be installed for around 13,000 Eu. My English neighbour was getting his solicitor to clarify that his builder should pay his share if this was to go ahead, as it clearly stated in his contract that a meter was to be supplied.
We have been paying bills by standing order for the last year. However there are some other meters alongside ours, not all connected, and it took some sorting out to get our bills with the correct meter number sent to our friends who have a postbox.
Our pool guy who is also overseeing a gardening project noticed the Endesa guys digging by our meter, and they unearthed two illegal connections, well buried under the ground so no one could detect them. The other working meter similarly had illegal taps, and has also been cut off, so I suspect that all seven houses are powerless. A denuncia had been attached to our meter....they probably think we had sanctioned the illegal supply.
Apparently we can have it reconnected, have to make sure the new connection is made in such a way that it cannot be tapped, have Endesa check it out, then hey presto we are back in the 21st century. And if we find anyone tapping in again we have to report it to the police.
I posted this so others can ensure that no one puts them in this position. I have great sympathy for my neighbour as he bought in good faith. Remember though that if others who have no meters around you have elex they have to be getting it from somewhere and it is more than likely from you. Whether the tap was after my meter and hence on my bills, or before and hence for free from Endesa I have yet to find out.

Flamingo can you PM me about the above seeing as your just around the corner Ta steve

I am very sorry to hear that. I am at a loss in the 21st century how they can expect people to live without essential services. As far as I can see the root of the problem is greedy builders constructing more and more properties without permissions and this council turning a blind eye to all thats going on.

I am so sorry to hear about the problem that people in the area are having.
We looked at houses in the area in February. but my husband was concerned about the legality of the electricity, all the house we were shown shared a meter ???? that immediately set warning bells off inside his head and told the very plausible estate agent so..... he then proceeded to try to tell him that this was normal,we took a quick exit, knowing that a house with out a meter and sometimes a well was "suspect".
People need warning and making aware that this problem exists
Perhaps the people in the middle of this situation should get the TV involved ?
This could highlight the situation and warn others about it.
By the way the estate agent was ENGLISH

I am so sorry to hear this Poollounger. Were your electricity bills very high, considering you don't live here full time? If not, then perhaps they were bypassing your meter and tapping into the supply before it got to your meter. I'm sure this info would be helpful to others.

Before I purchased my present house which has a electric meter and a contract in my name! I was shown over a period of two months upwards of 200 houses and only three had a meter and all the agents were my fellow countrymen!!!!!

I'm so glad that it worked out for you in the end Mitzipurr as I know you had a lot of problems. As for 'fellow countryman' I wouldn't touch most of them with a bargepole.

So you had the same opinion as my other half ?
The situation is disgusting as I see it the incomers in the area are being cheated by fellow countrymen!!!!!!!!!!!
We have not experienced any thing from any nationality, but the estate agent in Chicalana did make us feel uncomfortable as we could see that some people would be taken in.

Wow! I dont know if that is typical, but if only 3 out of every 200 houses have a meter I don't think it is particular fair to blame our "fellow countrymen" as it obviously affects the spanish just as much.

I am not sure the estate agent was neccessarily at fault in my case, and she has responded to my e-mails immediately, and has contacted the builder and solicitor involved.
The gist of the situation is that Endesa must have become aware of usage discrepancies.....consumption from the supply must have been far greater that that being paid for by the two legal meters. The tap on my supply was outside the property where the cable entered the soil then looped under the road to the pole opposite. It was not registering on my meter. The injustice of it is that I am being penalised for something I did not condone and was unaware of.....I have a circuit breaker between the meter and the house and had thrown this several times to see if it disconnected my neighbours, but they seemed to be immune, so I assumed that my supply was independent. They, Endesa, have told the chap who does my caretaking that a new and approved feed cable from the post will be acceptable, subject to inspection, and must be tamper proof. The simplest way of doing this is apparently to bury it in concrete. This does not come cheap, and who will bear the ultimate cost remains to be seen. If it is connected to by others again then I will be penalised and could lose my meter !!!! This is grossly unfair, but I expect they are adopting this approach to discourage others from sharing their meters.
In fairness to Endesa, the problem seems to be the greedy builders who are criticising them for refusing to supply meters, when the fault lies with the builders who are skimping on cost and not laying in adequate cabling to support the increased usage. In my case a supply which was feeding two meters which were on rustic properties are now being expected to supply seven with all the appliances that modern life utilises. The ducting under the road is undersized. The health and safety implications are enormous.
Thanks for all your support....I will post the outcome.

Mitzi were there no meters just illegal connections ?? Or were they shared meters ?? At least with a shared meter Endesa is being paid.....some people haven't paid a bill for years!!!

By our "fellow countrymen" I meant estate agents etc feeding off there own kind with not a iota of conscience that they were selling dodgy houses with no meters and only interested in one thing , how much money they could make on the deal..

Thank you for your good wishes. The only problem I have now is no adsl. Still you cant have everything and I have got peace of mind now which is very important! I too with the exception of only a handfull would not touch them with a bargepole.