Strange that should be public and not locked down.

careful... friend of mine got their computer locked down by guys in Russia and it cost them 1500 to get the key to unlock it. 

You can lock out but you have to provide a key if ask for 24 hours a day. 

Friend got it with this at a vacation home.Forget the billing and fix the problem:First take better pictures of the meter and the connection for evidence.Get an electrical contractor to come out, disconnect the illegal connection and install a security box with a lock so there's no access to the power  connects.Write a letter, send it Certified to the neighbor with copies of the tampering that this is criminal fraud and theft and if it occurs again, they will be prosecuted - - clearly note a copy has been sent to the Utility Company.You might research the owner of the property and send a copy to them also (in case it might be rented).You didn't start this but need to control it.

If you're willing to share I'm all ears.

This would also lock in your price to buy it now.

The thought of locking away thousands of dollars each year that can not be removed/ used in RE with out penalty until i'm 59.5  years old does not sound appealing to me at all. 

the good news is you do not have inner city issues IE thefts and destruction of property.. you can lock up a house and come back a year later and it looks the same..

my father has been  a landlord for 20 years in detroit so i get to hear all about them since ive been around1 self employed people they  always fail to pay on time and leave dirt everywhere to be cleaned 2 those who turn into a life of crime and decide the unit is either a great place to distribute narcotics meth and other dangerous substances or worse they decide its a perfect place to produce drugs having the fbi lock down the unit and investigate my father this has happened 5 times now3 have had two units completely scrapped and i mean interiors gutted, copper pipes ripped heaters boilers even the shower and toilets stolen, these skin heads even tore threw the walls to steal all the electrical and hvac, needless to say they costed tens of thousands 4 one tenant decided it was a cool idea to pay for one month, then strip the entire location. once the tenant was evicted the house was burned to the ground. no charges were ever given .5 worst of all is when people die. once a drunk driver in a pickup truck drove right into the living room and killed not only himself but the tenants watching tv in the room, weve also had about 3 that i remember who we found laying dead from alcohol poisoning, the last one we payed to be sent and burried near his family  also we once had a witch doctor, this old lady disappeared after renting for a year. when we went inside the walls were covered in blood, there were rotting animals that had been cut open, candles and wax stuck all over the place. 

Using them can lock you into a strategy that may not be as attractive down the road as it can seem up front.