Thieves are robbing from Buckeye Rural Electric Cooperative members. At the same time, they are compromising the safety and reliability of the electric system.

Copper theft is on the rise in the Tri-State area. Peaking scrap metal prices have prompted a crime spree that targets construction sites, plumbing, telephone lines, and the wires used by electric utilities.

Crime is crime, according to local law enforcement officials. But copper theft from electric systems carries with it an added penalty: thieves are flirting with death and injury.

Buckeye REC has experienced incidents of theft since the copper crime spree started in late spring. Thieves are stealing ground wires off poles. At least one power outage has been attributed to thieves, who allowed a wire to spring into the overhead conductors.

“It’s a wonder they weren’t electrocuted,” said Operations Manager Marvin Ours.

Gallia and Lawrence County sheriff’s departments are investigating copper thefts for the co-op. Similar probes are being conducted on behalf of telephone companies. Several arrests have been made.

Across the Buckeye State, copper theft is occurring at an epidemic rate. At least one alleged thief was seriously injured when he came in contact with a high-voltage line. In a separate incident, thieves broke into a utility’s substation to steal copper and caused the substation to shut down.

“They said the concrete was smoking, the voltage was so high,” said Ours, shaking his head.

What motivates someone to risk life and limb for copper wire? About $2.70 per pound, say those who collect metal for legal recycling.

Scrap metal buyers this summer have paid between $2.20 and $3 per pound for copper. This has made copper recycling a lucrative business.

However, scrap prices also motivated those who don’t hesitate to acquire metal illegally. Thieves have gone after metal in a bewildering array of forms: pipes and plumbing fittings under houses, window unit air conditioners (for the copper coils inside), aluminum siding, even bronze urns and grave markers at cemeteries.

It seems that electric utilities and telephone companies have been the hardest hit. Unfortunately, thieves can also cause power outages and interruption of communication service when they abscond with conductors of phone cables.

Buckeye REC will not hesitate to prosecute copper thieves to the fullest extent of the law, said Executive Vice President and General Manager Dennis Beard.

“There’s nothing funny about this type of theft. It endangers people’s lives: the thieves, the public, and the electric linemen working on our system,” Beard said.

Ours explained that the co-op’s electric distribution system depends on proper grounding and protective devices that work in a millisecond. Stealing copper can hinder or prevent the operation of the system.

“Entire spans of circuit could burn down. A substation might malfunction. People could be without power for days or weeks,” he warned.

The public’s help is needed to curb this thievery.

Cases under investigation at this point have started with tips from Buckeye REC members.

“They saw something suspicious and reported it to us,” said Consumer Services Manager Russ Elliott, who is working with local sheriff’s departments on theft cases involving co-op property. He advises not to confront thieves but to write down individual descriptions, type of vehicle, license plate number, time, and location.

“Contact us immediately,” he said.

Spiking prices of scrap metal, especially copper, have caused a crime wave in which utility materials are being stolen at great risk to human life and service reliability. (photo by Steve Oden)

Signs of suspicious activity include:

• Unfamiliar cars, trucks, or ATVs driving slowly along power line rights of way and stopping near poles.

• Individuals climbing poles or backing their vehicles up to poles.

• Use of flashlights or spotlights near co-op poles or substations.

• “Burn piles,” where the insulation on conductors and telephone lines is incinerated to expose the metal alloy.

• Individuals with hatchets, shears, saws, or cutters near power lines or facilities.

Buckeye REC employees and contractors drive vehicles clearly marked with names and logos. Co-op linemen wear uniform clothing with patches.

“We don’t mind being asked what we are doing and identifying ourselves,” said Elliott. “Much of this theft is occurring in very rural areas, so farmers and local residents might see suspicious activity and help us gain information leading to arrests and convictions.”

Buckeye members should also be on guard against copper thieves coming onto their property.

“If the thieves see something in a shed, carport, garage, or barn with possible value at a scrap yard, they might try to steal it.”