Contractor uses neighbor's power supply to build deck, customer gets annoyed when neighbor asks them to pay extra $35 on their electric bill: ' This outlet is not available for use'

Ally Perry • Writer and Editor

Nov 7, 2026 8:00 AM EST

Another person's utilities are not for public use.

Many homeowners pay good money to keep the water running and the lights on. Not only do they not want to have to pay for the usage of others, there is every chance that they can't afford to. Electricity rates rose 5% on average year on year in 2026, and for some people, that extra cost can be the difference between keeping their finances under control and having to cut back on other outgoings to pay on time.

Even for those who don't have a problem paying their bills, most will object on principle to somebody coming along and taking the utilities that are only supposed to be used by the inhabitants of their property. It is a form of theft to go behind someone's back and take their power, even if it is an outdoor outlet that is easily accessible. You (hopefully) wouldn't go and steal their backyard furniture or their lawnmower just because it was outside, so why should you be entitled to their electricity?

If a person makes the choice to let a neighbor use some of their power, that is a different thing altogether, but sneaking behind their back and taking it is bound to cause issues when it gets found out. It is only fair that there is some kind of consequence for it, as it can be a significant expense. Nobody should be paying a premium because somebody else thinks that it is OK to steal.

*_{A contractor using a power tool to construct a deck. Licensed media provided as editorial context.}*

A homeowner was confused when they received their electric bill, and it was noticeably higher than usual. Their neighbor had contractors working in their yard to build a deck, and they soon deduced that the contractors were using their outdoor outlet for their power tools.

They immediately took action to stop this and confronted their neighbor in the hopes that they would pay the difference on their bill. However, he argued that it wasn't that much money, and his wife took offence that they had made this request. They wanted validation that their response had not been too extreme.

Am I wrong for unplugging my neighbor's contractor after he ran power tools off my outlet for 2 weeks?

My neighbor started getting a deck built about halfway through October. The crew has been out there almost every weekday since then running saws and drills and all kinds of power tools from early in the morning until around 5 in the evening and it's been loud but nothing crazy. I didn't think much of it because it's his yard and they were keeping the noise to reasonable hours.

My electric bill for October came in last week and it was $35 higher than September. I went back through my security camera footage and found out why. The contractor had been running a heavy duty extension cord from my outdoor outlet on the side of the house, through the gap in the fence, into my neighbor's yard. Every morning he'd plug in and every evening he'd coil it back up.

I unplugged the cord and taped a note to it that said this outlet is not available for use. I sent my neighbor a text about the cord with a screenshot from the camera and told him I wanted the difference on my electric bill covered.

The neighbor had been ignorant to what the contractor was doing, but he didn't want to pay.

He came over and said he had no idea. He said he was sorry about that but $35 is really not worth making a thing over and offered to bring me a coffee from the cafe down the street to make up for it. I told him I don't want coffee, I want the money back and I want his contractor to use his own power. He told me I was turning it into something it doesn't need to be.

On Thursday another neighbor stopped me at the mailbox and asked if it was true I unplugged a contractor over 35 dollars. Apparently his wife has been going around the street telling people I'm a power Karen over an outlet AITK?

It is normal to have these kinds of mix-ups with neighbors, but taking responsibility and rectifying the situation where possible is the most important part. Just because it was the contractor's decision and not theirs does not mean that they get to ignore the effect that it had on the people living next to them.