(a) As used in this section, “utility” includes any person, firm, corporation, or association, whether private, public, quasi-public, or cooperative which is engaged in the sale, generation, provision, or delivery of gas, electricity, heat, water, oil, sewer service, telephone service, telegraph service, radio service, or communication service, but does not include a cable television company or any person owning, controlling, operating, managing, or leasing a cable television system in the territory.
(b) It is unlawful to:
(1) Willfully alter, tamper with, injure, knowingly suffer to be injured any meter, meter seal, pipe, conduit, wire, line, cable, transformer, amplifier, or other apparatus or device belonging to a utility or a cable television company or community antenna line service in such a manner as to cause loss or damage; or to alter the index or break the seal of any such meter; or in any way to hinder or interfere with the proper action or just registration of any such meter or device; or knowingly to use, waste, or suffer the waste of cable television service or communication antenna line service, by any means, or electricity, gas or water passing through any such meter, wire, pipe, or fitting, or other appliance or appurtenance connected with or belonging to any such utility or cable television company or community antenna line service, after such meter, wire, pipe or fitting, or other appliance or appurtenance has been tampered with, injured, or altered.
(2) Make or cause to be made any connection with any wire, cable, main, service pipe or other pipes, appliance, or appurtenance in such manner as to use without the consent of the utility or cable television company or community antenna line service, any service or any electricity, gas, or water, or to cause to be supplied any service or electricity, gas, or water from a utility or a cable television company or community antenna line service to any person, firm, or corporation or any lamp, burner, orifice, faucet, or other outlet whatsoever, without such service being reported for payment of such electricity, gas, or water passing through a meter or other device provided by the utility or cable television company and used for measuring and registering the quantity of electricity, gas, water, or service passing through the same.
(3) Use or receive the direct benefit from the use of a utility, cable television company, or community antenna line service knowing, or under such circumstances, as would induce a reasonable person to believe that such direct benefits have resulted from any tampering with, altering of, or injury to any connection, wire, conductor, meter, pipe, conduit, line, cable, transformer, amplifier, or other apparatus or device owned, operated, or controlled by such utility or cable television company or community antenna line company, for the purpose of avoiding payment.
(c) The presence on property in the actual possession of a person of any device or alteration which effects the diversion or use of the service of a utility, cable television company, or community antenna line service so as to avoid the registration of such use by or on a meter installed by the utility or so as to otherwise avoid the reporting of use of such service for payment shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of this section by such person; however, this presumption shall not apply unless each of the following conditions exist:
(1) The presence of such a device or alteration can be attributed only to a deliberate act in furtherance of an intent to avoid payment for utility or cable television services.
(2) The person charged has received the direct benefit of the reduction of the cost of such utility or cable television services.
(3) The customer or recipient of the utility or cable television services has received the direct benefit of such utility or cable television services for at least one full billing cycle.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to apply to licensed electrical contractors while performing usual and ordinary service in accordance with recognized standards or the installation and operation of cogeneration facilities or utility interface renewable energy systems.
(e) Any person who willfully violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $3000 or by imprisonment. However, if the person has been previously convicted under this section, he shall be fined not less than $1000 but not more than $10,000 and shall be imprisoned for not less than three months but not more than one year.
(f) Any person who is found in a civil action to have violated the provisions hereof shall be liable to the utility or cable television company or community antenna line service involved in an amount equal to three (3) times the amount of services unlawfully obtained.