HOLDEN – A Holden man has been charged with diverting what an investigator described as a “staggering” amount of electricity to his home over the course of several years.

Authorities don’t know for sure yet when William McCormack allegedly began diverting the electricity but estimate it could have begun in 1996 and amounted to nearly $2,000 per month in unpaid electric use. McCormack is charged with felony theft of services.

“The dollar amount is going to be quite staggering,” acknowledged Chief Deputy Glenn Ross of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department, who said he was told by the power company that it was enough electricity to run a small store.

The vast discrepancy in what power McCormack was paying for and what was being used was confirmed when Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. set up a meter on the utility pole outside McCormack’s home at 868 Levenseller Road. The company monitored the amount of kilowatts going in and what McCormack was paying for.

Officials discovered, according to Ross, that McCormack was paying $150 for 1,500 kilowatts each month although the meter on the pole registered that 21,000 kilowatts, or $2,000 worth of electricity that was being used monthly.

Power from the pole runs under ground to McCormack’s home, apparently because an exterior line would be slung too low. On Monday, Bangor Hydro used equipment that detects underground current and, with McCormack’s permission, authorities dug up the line Tuesday. What they found was that the power line had been spliced and power diverted to an electrical panel in McCormack’s garage.

McCormack, who has lived in the house since 1978, said he was unaware of the diverted power and cooperated with the investigation, Ross said.

The diverted power was used to heat the garage, which is poorly insulated, Ross said, meaning much of that power was wasted. In addition some went to the home, where McCormack had electric heaters, a hot water heater and other appliances, as well as an oil burner. He also burned wood for heat.

Ross said the diversion was not only illegal but also dangerous, especially for anyone doing electrical work on the home or removing the meter, who could have found the house still ‘live’ with electricity even when the main power was cut.

“It can be deadly to an electrician and the Hydro worker,” Ross said.

McCormack was summoned and not arrested. Bangor Hydro cut power to the home and authorities worried that the pipes could freeze with McCormick away from the home. Power will be restored once McCormack can have the line rewired properly, Ross said.