As the price of copper has increased, so has copper theft. While trying to make a quick dollar by stealing copper, thieves risk their own lives and cause dangerous and expensive damage. Common targets for copper thieves are farming equipment, air conditioners, vacant buildings, construction sites, and electric utility properties, including substations and power poles. The Safe Electricity program encourages you to help stop copper theft by reporting suspicious activity near any of these locations.
Copper theft from electric utilities is particularly hazardous to thieves and also to those who rely on electricity. In the past few years, copper thieves have caused power outages at businesses and homes, shutdown traffic lights, and forced hospitals to run on backup generators. In the worst cases, copper thefts have caused fires and explosions that have taken innocent lives.
Safe Electricity suggests the following tips to stay safe and help stop copper theft:
- Never enter or touch equipment inside a substation; stay away from power lines and anything touching a power line.
- If you notice anything unusual with electric facilities, such as an open substation gate, open equipment, hanging wire, etc., contact your electric utility immediately.
- If you see suspicious activities near electric facilities, call emergency services or your local utility. Do not intervene. Allow officials to handle the situation.
- If you work in construction, store copper securely, especially overnight.
- Install motion-sensor lights on the outside of your house and business to deter possible thieves.
- Store tools and wire cutters in a secure location, and never leave them out while away.
For more information on staying safe around electricity, visit SafeElectricity.org.
You must be logged in to post a comment.