Why copper thefts

It is expensive to fix the damage done by copper thefts. Their actions have forced airport runways to temporarily shut down, required hospitals to run on generator power, created traffic problems when traffic lights did not have power, and caused deaths from fires and explosions. Copper theft is also dangerous for thieves themselves. Substations and power poles carry high levels of fatal electricity. Many copper thefts have been killed or seriously burned or injured while trying to steal from electric utilities.

Safe Electricity has the following tips to empower you to help stop copper theft. Common targets for copper theft are construction sites, farming equipment, and electric utility property.

Construction sites, abandoned buildings, and commercial heating and air conditioning units have been the biggest targets for these thieves. More often than not the damage caused obtaining the copper vastly exceeds the value of the copper, but this does not deter the thieves. Not only are business stuck having to repair or replace equipment stripped of copper, the damage often results in the loss of electricity, water, and heating or air conditioning resulting in the discontinuing of business until the repairs are completed.

Understanding that copper theft is a very real problem is an important first step in protecting your community organization from copper theft, but there are more steps that can be taken to avoid this growing problem. An easy and inexpensive way to deter copper thieves is to paint all copper components black.

This causes the copper to look like regular, worthless plastic tubing that no one would waste the time to steal. Areas containing items with copper in them are always a potential target, and depending on the value of the item, a fence may be worth the investment. The amount of copper in most commercial air conditioners is never worth a great amount, but the real cost comes from the destruction of the unit and the time it takes to replace it.

Installing an alarm system to protect copper from theft is a great way to deter potential thieves and to catch those who do. There are many varieties of alarm systems, and choosing one will depend on the location and type of the object in need of protection.

For heating and cooling units, for example, there are alarms that are triggered if the unit stops working. Aside from deterring would-be thieves, surveillance cameras can aid police in capturing thieves resulting in either the return of stolen goods or incarceration preventing future thefts.

Recognizing the increased risk of theft during these periods can greatly reduce the chances of having copper stolen. Hiring staff or security personal to monitor your facility during these periods can greatly reduce the chances of a serious loss. The rise in copper theft lately has led to new legislation.

For example, Oklahoma state legislature recently passed a bill aimed at strengthening existing laws designed to curtail metal thefts.

It tightens the requirements for seller identification and adds remote storage batteries to the list of regulated materials. Copper theft is not isolated to the US, but rather is a global problem. In Canada, the provincial government of Saskatchewan also recently passed legislation targeting scrap metal thefts. SaskPower, the principal electric utility in the province, fired three of its employees in December for stealing scrap copper from the company.

The utility has also reported electrical substations as targets of copper theft in recent years. In Brazil, transit authorities have reported millions of dollars in vandalism and theft from traffic lights in the past few years, while power distributor Cemig has said theft of copper cables is on the rise, resulting in supply interruptions for energy , traffic disruptions and issues for telecommunications networks.

In May , under amended legislation, five copper thieves were handed a cumulative 1, year sentence for stealing copper cables. Whether or not tougher laws will have an impact on copper theft remains to be seen. For now, as long as copper is trading at a high price, the red metal remains alluring to those in the black market even as lawmakers worldwide try to crack down on the trade.

This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article. Please remember that by requesting an investor kit, you are giving permission for those companies to contact you using whatever contact information you provide.

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