Electrical gravity
My sister was doing her nut in one day. She was looking at the wheel in the electricity meter, which was whizzing around like the clappers. So she decided to turn EVERYTHING off in the house to see what was using all the electricity.

So she turns every thing off, and the wheel is still spinning.

Frustrated, and some hours later she decides to phone the electricity company.

After a fruitless conversation, the electricity person asks where the meter is located.

"In the basement!" says my sister.

"Ahh. That's where the problem is" replies the electricity woman.

"When you turn off the electricity, it take a bit of time for the electricity to sink back down the wires to the basement, and that's why the wheel is still spinning."
(tonyhrx, Fri 19 Mar 2010, 14:39, 3 replies)

Did she turn things off using their power buttons or at the wall?
Cos most electrical devices still use elctric when on standby.
( Crap Little Monkey Deathstar, so good they built it twice, Fri 19 Mar 2010, 15:42, closed)

as well as the above, some alternative explanations:
# Shes's missed something obvious, like lights*.
# Shes's missed something that's hard-wired into the power supply and can't be easily shut off (burglar alarm, central heating pump, outdoor security lights)
# Someone has, by accident or design, tapped into her supply and is stealing electricity.

* I've done similar myself. I planned some electrical work, knocked off the supply for safety, only to find that it's too dark to work. I then had to mess around with desk-lamps and extension leads, which I should have set up beforehand.

(minor edits)
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Sat 20 Mar 2010, 10:49, closed)

turn off the main switch at the fuseboard
if it carries on spinning there's either a fault or somebody's stealing electricity
( parttimedogfish is a Born-Again Reincarnationist, Sun 21 Mar 2010, 20:08, closed)