As the Price of Copper Goes, So Does Its Theft

When the per pound price of copper spiked, the theft of the metal increased from electric utilities, gas wells, substations and construction sites. Now, with copper prices on the rise, so are thefts.

For example, the Bangor (Maine) Hydro Electric Company is again repairing a substation in its northern service territory after thieves stole copper wire from the facility for the second time in less than a week. Company officials say crews finished repairing damage from the first theft on Friday, only to return Monday to discover that the newly-installed copper wire had also been stolen. And in Texas, solar panels and copper wiring are disappearing from gas well sites. In a rare arrest, Cincinnati police charged a 29 year-old man with nine felony counts for stealing copper ground wire from Duke Energy substations.

Copper went from $4/lb to $1/lb at the end of last year. Now it is back at $3/lb and the copper theft projects are all moving full speed, according to Keith Jentoft of Videofied. Security Magazine recently hosted a Webinar on the technology. You can view it at:

https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=157718&sessionid=1&key=2DB2EFE81A4B136755EB2AD5C3F5C5E3&partnerref=website&sourcepage=register