Cresatech Limited
MENUMENU
  • Copper Theft and Substation Safety
  • About
    • Meet the Team
    • Patents and Trademarks
  • Solutions
    • Substation Monitoring
    • LV Service Metrics Monitoring
    • Telecom / Radio Tower
  • Technologies
    • CuTS®
    • LV Power Metrics Monitor
  • Blog
  • KB
  • Contact
  • Login
You are here: Home / Blog / Copper Theft News / Copper theft: gain a buck, lose a life. Nebraska PPD

Copper theft: gain a buck, lose a life. Nebraska PPD

Mark Cowan

by Mark Cowan

Columbus, Neb. – The price of copper has been inching up slightly in 2017, and so have copper thefts. Copper theft, done specifically to pick up a small amount of cash quickly, is especially harmful because of the safety risks it creates when taken from electric utility property, such as substations and power poles. The risk can cause fires, explosions, power outages, electric shock, or even loss of life.

In the past week, Nebraska Public Power District has seen a significant jump in copper theft from its locked substations. Individuals have entered several substations illegally and have taken grounds, typically an eight inch copper rod used to direct stray current to the ground and minimize equipment damage.

There is no way to know by looking at the ground rod and wiring whether it is carrying electricity or not at any given time. It compromises substation safety.

“We are asking the public to be our ‘eyes and ears’ and be on the lookout for the potential theft of copper wiring from transmission poles and substations across the state,” said NPPD Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kent. “The substations targeted are located in rural areas as opposed to those located in communities. Stealing copper or other metals from substations or electric facilities is a crime.”
Kent explained that copper theft is a significant safety issue for the thieves, but it can potentially cause harm to members of the public and utility workers. Copper thefts can cause power outages that can be inconvenient for customers and costly to business.

NPPD urges anyone who may see suspicious activity at electric substations to contact their local law enforcement agency with a description of the individuals and vehicles involved. Kent emphasised that individuals should not attempt to apprehend the intruders.

He also stressed that NPPD’s service vehicles are well-marked with bright orange bumpers. Other utilities serving specific areas have wording or logos on their vehicles identifying them as an electric utility, too. “The public should alert local law enforcement of any vehicles that are not identified as being from a utility and activities that appear to be unusual, or individuals that appear to be acting suspicious around electric facilities including power line poles.”

NPPD works with law enforcement agencies across the state to make them aware of the signs of potential copper theft and their personal safety when investigating these thefts.

Some of the signs of copper theft to watch for include:

  • Loose or broken wires;
  • Broken utility pole attachments;
  • Open gates at unattended substations or holes in the security fence;
  • Burn marks on utility equipment; and
  • Electrical arcing

July 17, 2017

Source: nppd.com

Tags: copper theft, Nabraska PPD, Substation Safety

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail
Blog Home
TATA Chemical Plant Hit by Copper Theft 9 Times in 5 Months - Cheshire
Lamar Electric Substation Copper Theft and Snake Damage

Featured Content

  • Wind turbine substations targeted for copper theft in Huron County25th October 2018 - 5:31 pm
  • Copper theft from Ausgrid substation at Mark’s Point causes fire24th October 2018 - 9:09 am
  • Copper thieves strike again at Maritime Electric substation23rd October 2018 - 8:53 am
  • Entergy & Cresatech are presenting at the 10th CEATI Grounding conference in Anaheim CA25th September 2018 - 10:21 am
  • Copper Theft Takes Three Jonesboro Radio Stations Off Air19th September 2018 - 10:26 am
  • Attempted Copper Theft at LCRA Colton Substation6th September 2018 - 12:41 pm
  • Copper Theft of Half a Kilometre of Live Ausgrid Power Lines5th September 2018 - 3:06 pm

Company

  • About
  • Meet the Team
  • Patents and Trademarks
  • Privacy Policy

Solutions

Substation Monitoring

LV Service Metrics Monitoring

Telecom / Radio Tower

Technologies

CuTS®

LV Power Metrics Monitor

Contact Us

CRESATECH Limited
Marl Business Park
Morecambe Road
Ulverston
Cumbria LA12 9BN

CRESATECH (USA)
155 E Boardwalk Dr, Suite 422,
Fort Collins, CO 80525, USA

Registration

CRESATECH Inc. is a corporation registered in Delaware, USA
(No. 5421150).

Registered in England
(No. 7753223).
VAT Number: GB130795808

© Cresatech Limited, Copper Theft and Substation Safety
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Mail
Lamar Electric Substation Copper Theft and Snake Damage TATA Chemical Plant Hit by Copper Theft 9 Times in 5 Months – Cheshir...
Scroll to top

Our site uses cookies. By continuing to browse, you agree to our use of cookies.

OKRead more

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

The Cresatech website may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, you cannot refuse them without impacting how our site functions. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visist to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy Policy
Accept settingsHide notification only