The owner of this property works for a utility company! This is a tap to the service drop conductors. The supply voltage here is 120/240 volts.

Sort of related but I know Jim likes stories so I'll share it here. My dad was a lineman for 41 years. The last few years he did service calls and disconnects and reconnects. He said he routinely caught cheaters and for whatever reason people thought that putting bags of salt or magnets on top of the meter would make it "run slower". The cheaters would get an estimated bill and a threatening letter normally.

My favorite story though is this one. My dad, unlike me, is a large man. 6' 4", 280 lb. He had a disconnect for non-payment call one day. He went to the house and knocked on the door. No answer. Went out to the road and opened the cutout. A few seconds later a man appeared on the porch screaming "You turn that back on or I'll whip your @$$" and started out across the yard toward my dad. Dad started walking toward the guy. When they met in the middle the guy was about 5' 2" and 120 lbs. My dad said to the guy "Excuse me?" to which the guy replied "You turn that back on and I'll write you a check!"