I had to change "Eff says that's illegal" to "EFF says illegal" to fit the title length limits.

  That same year, deputies from the same department, with their guns drawn and bullhorns and sirens sounding, fanned out around the home of Brian Decker, another Sacramento resident. The officers forced Decker to walk backward out of his home in only his underwear around 7 am while his neighbors watched. The deputies said that he, too, was under suspicion of illegally growing cannabis.

To say nothing of the issue at hand, but few things make me more angry than cops escalating everything. Guy growing pot at his home? Guess he is lucky SWAT did not break down the door at 2AM and shoot his dog.

Yeah I don't trust their accuracy at all.

Last winter my gas heater was out of commission for about a month. I plugged in 3 oil filled electric radiant heaters. I had guests at the time so I kept the temperature up higher than usual in areas of the house which I normally keep cooler. It all worked out great.

The next power bill showed that most of my power usage was "lighting." Uh huh.

TFA doesn't specify if the Sacramento Sheriff's Department actually gets search warrants based on the "information" from the electric company.

I'd expect not, as ISTM elevated electricity usage isn't "probable cause" for a search warrant.

Or at least it shouldn't be, IMNSHO.