I would think that using a transformer so that one need not physically connect a wire wouldn’t necessarily change that (it would if the law in question mentions that connection a conductor is needed)
This is a sort of transformer (a very bad one, but still one), so I think many jurisdictions still would call it stealing. Whether they would think it worthy of prosecution is a different question.
I think the point they're making is that whilst it is technically stealing, it is such a small amount.
Stealing a grape from the supermarket vs robbing a supermarket of all its fruit and veg. There's bigger fish to fry and the world doesn't have enough time and resources to go after or worry about such things.
I strongly disagree. Many jurisdictions call it theft to tap off electricity, even though no electrons are taken (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_theft, https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/power-th...)
I would think that using a transformer so that one need not physically connect a wire wouldn’t necessarily change that (it would if the law in question mentions that connection a conductor is needed)
This is a sort of transformer (a very bad one, but still one), so I think many jurisdictions still would call it stealing. Whether they would think it worthy of prosecution is a different question.