Copper thieves are having an impact on the cost of electricity, home construction and private businesses. Eventually that impact will affect your pocket. Regular citizens can play an important role in reducing copper theft by calling 911 and reporting suspicious activity around construction sites.
By Frank Ross
You don’t have to be directly impacted by criminals stealing copper to experience the financial fallout. As a consumer who pays for electricity or buys a new home, you’ll eventually be the recipient of trickle down affect of theft because all expenses of any business go into the price of the product they produce.
When a thief steals copper from a house under construction, the cost of replacing that wiring has to go back into the cost of the houses that are being produced. It may not happen immediately, because of contracts that are in place, but somewhere down the line it will have to be picked up or the builder will be out of business.
Power companies share the same reality. Recently thieves stole 5,000 feet of copper wire from a construction project in San Antonio, Texas. Officials estimate it will cost CPS Energy nearly $120,000 to replace the stolen wire and repair the damage. The benefit to the thieves would be a pittance of this cost, but they are not concerned about you, your family or in reality anything but the immediate benefit of their ill-gotten gains.
Deputies note that it is now illegal for salvage yards to buy telephone copper wire, so thieves are targeting electrical wire. All across the nation copper theft was a problem, last summer, until the price of copper dropped dramatically. Now that the price of copper is rising again, it makes the metal more attractive to steal.
The aspect of this crime that is most remarkable is the boldness of the criminals, or perhaps it is their stupidity. During another recent theft, criminals cut out several 20-foot lengths of heavy copper cable from a substation, while the wires were fully charged and thousands of volts were passing through them.
While these thieves were incredibly lucky this time, there have been numerous individuals that have not been so lucky, and their charred bodies did not require prosecution.
Certainly thieves willing submit themselves to this danger, but if you’re in the electricity industry, you can reduce the impact of thieves by having your copper bus bars and grounding bars stamped with your company name, and Do Not Recycle. This service is provided by Stormgrounding.com. If you’re not in a position to impact thieves in this manner, you can certainly be a diligent citizen and report suspicious activity in the area of constructions sites and electrical substations where these crimes most often occur. You don’t have to get involved physically, just call 911 and report what you’ve seen. It could have a direct impact on your personal finances and where you are able to set the thermostat for heating or cooling.
For all the details, read: Copper crooks could soon raise your CPS Energy bills
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