copper theft – Copper Theft and Substation Safety – Cresatech

Zimbabwe Utility Zesa – Three Transformers Stolen Every Night

Mark Cowan — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 10:39:31 +0000

Zimbabwe Utility Zesa – Three Transformers Stolen Every Night

Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure has become a serious problem in their operations to the level of economic sabotage.

“The country is losing three transformers every night, with about 4 000 having been lost so far. These are imported materials, which cost about $5 000 each bringing the total loss to $20 million to date.”

Theft and vandalism of Zesa infrastructure has become prevalent throughout the country. “Replacement of transformers is very costly as they are imported. With the country experiencing such losses, theft and vandalism of electricity infrastructure incidents have become a serious cause for concern and should be declared a state of emergency.”

The state of emergency entails diverting resources towards this challenge as infrastructure damage was stalling the economic development agenda. “Instead of improving on our services and growing as an industry, we are busy looking back to replace the cables that have been stolen and replace transformers, which have been drained of oil, and transformers whose components have been stolen.”

It was worrying to note that most of these cases were organised crime with some of the accomplices coming from different organisations including Government departments, which are instead supposed to be safeguarding the country’s assets. “Vehicles being found at some crime scenes are registered with the Central Vehicle Registry (CVR) but with no traceable details of the owners, including the name or address, hence, investigations must be done in many departments.

“Accomplices are suspected to be within Zesa and even at the borders as it sounds impossible for the suspects to easily sneak through the borders undetected with heavily loaded vehicles to neighbouring countries. Suspects are always found with full equipment, which includes Zesa work suits, equipment, tools and vehicles, a sign that someone is funding them. Clearly, this is neatly organised crime.”

Content by nehandaradio.com

Tags: copper theft, Zesa

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Eskom’s Cable / Copper Theft Crisis

Mark Cowan — Mon, 26 Nov 2018 10:33:53 +0000

Eskom’s Cable / Copper Theft Crisis

Eskom’s cable and copper theft crisis in Cape Town

Thieves cut down overhead cable and dig for underground cable, remove it and break into sub-stations.
Newly-installed copper cable along Lansdowne road near Site C in Khayelitsha as well as Swartklip Road has been extracted, with more stolen daily around parts of Khayelitsha.
Street light cable, as well as heavy-duty cable which supplies power to homes, has been stolen in recent months, but residents feel Eskom is not doing enough to stop the thieves.

Eskom has lost approximately R1.7 million in the Cape Town since the beginning of the financial year to date. Cable theft hotspots include Inkanini, Zwezwe, Harare, Makhaza and Site B, Joe Slovo in Milnerton, Gugulethu, Nyanga, Philippi West and Weltevreden Valley.

It costs approximately R958 per metre to replace stolen cable.

Residents of Khayeltisha claim Eskom is not doing enough to curb the theft. “We watch copper thieves help themselves to Eskom cable every day. When we call their Cable Theft Unit, we are often told that they are busy in other areas. Police often arrive after the fact,

Eskom spokesperson Kyle Cookson said the power utility has implemented various strategies and explored many options. “We’ve had several engagements with community leaders and members of the community with regard to vandalism and theft of copper cables. “We have also installed tags and devices along the cable routes. These devices would send signals to the control centre whenever there’s attempted cable theft. In some areas we used ready-mix concrete to cover the cables and have also deployed security at different sites to safe-guard the cables.”

Billions of rands are lost to cable theft across the country. Over the past few years Eskom has lost a total of about R2 billion. A total of 3,432 incidents of cable and pylon theft were reported in 2017 alone.

Content by iol.co.za

Tags: copper theft, Eskom

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Two Men Suffer Severe Burns in Attempted Copper Theft

Mark Cowan — Thu, 22 Nov 2018 12:01:45 +0000

Two Men Suffer Severe Burns in Attempted Copper Theft at Duquesne Light Trafford Power Substation

Two men showed up at a Monroeville hospital emergency room in June with severe burn injuries following an attempted copper theft from a Trafford power substation, Westmoreland County Detectives reported.

East McKeesport police were summoned about 4:50 a.m. to AHN Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville to investigate two patients, Madden and Ziegler, who showed up for treatment of severe electrical burns to their bodies.

Westmoreland County Detective Nicholas Caesar reported in interviews at the burn unit at West Penn Hospital in Pittsburgh, where the men were transferred, that Ziegler admitted that he and Madden entered the substation in Trafford Commerce Park to steal copper wire. During the theft about 3 a.m., according to court documents, Ziegler cut into a live 23,000-volt Duquesne Light power line and caused an explosion. The force “blew him out of his shoes”, Zeigler stated that “he was on fire due to the explosion and had to roll around in the rocks to extinguish the fire.” Madden also suffered burns and both men abandoned their tools to seek medical treatment. The men called a woman acquaintance to drive them to the hospital, according to court documents.

Dylan E. Madden, 25, of Turtle Creek and Jay A. Ziegler, 32, of Wall are charged with criminal trespass, risking a catastrophe, criminal mischief, possession of instruments of crime, defiant trespass, reckless endangerment, possession of instruments of crime and theft of metals after the June 4 incident that knocked out power in the Trafford area for several hours, according to court documents.

The explosion in the utility substation caused a power outage and resulted in 12 area businesses being unable to conduct business. The damage to area businesses was estimated at more than $13,000, and more than $2,500 in damage occurred to the utility facility. Detectives later confiscated a bolt cutter, hacksaw, tin snips and crescent wrench from the facility that was posted for “No Trespassing” and warned people of its potential danger.

Content by Paul Peirce at Tribune Review

Tags: copper theft, Duquesne Light, substation

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Copper Theft Causes Major Damage To Cullman Electric Coop Substation And Outages For Thousands

Mark Cowan — Thu, 01 Nov 2018 14:26:34 +0000

Copper Theft Causes Major Damage To Cullman Electric

Copper theft inside a Cullman Electric Cooperative substation on Friday 28th October caused thousands of dollars in damage and resulted in more than 3,000 co-op members being without power for more than an hour.

Co-op members served by the Ebenezer substation in northwest Cullman County were without power for approximately 90 minutes while crews replaced grounding wires that had been stolen overnight.

Cullman Electric Cooperative Engineering Manager Justin Lee said the value of the stolen copper is minimal compared to the cost of repairing damaged equipment as well as the inconvenience to residents, business and schools that went without power.

“The people who did this could have easily been killed by the electricity inside the substation,” Lee said. “Electrical substations are very dangerous. The amount of electricity a person could come into contact with can easily cause severe burns and in some cases be instantly fatal. That’s why substation gates are locked, and even when co-op employees are working inside the gates remain closed to keep the public out.”

Content by cullmanec.com

Tags: copper theft, Cullman Electric

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Failed Copper Theft Halts Belgium and Germany Commuters

Mark Cowan — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 14:27:14 +0000

Failed Copper Theft Halts Belgium and Germany Commuters

German and Belgian commuters are learning that even wannabe thieves can have a major impact on train traffic, after services were severely interrupted because someone tried to steal railway cables.

In the failed copper theft 30th October cables were severed, not stolen, but the disruptions still created chaos for travellers on the busy Germany to Belgium via Aachen route.

“Although the copper theft failed, the consequences for train traffic are extensive,” a spokesman for the rail network operator Infrabel told Belgian news agency Belga.
The crime took place on Belgian soil, according to Spiegel Online. The Belgium side has set up a shuttle bus to help alleviate the pain of travellers.
Meanwhile, Intercity and regional trains from North Rhine-Westphalia were also affected, with routes being cut short at Aachen Hauptbahnhof, a spokesman for Deutsche Bahn said. Six Thalys trains to and from Paris also experienced delays due to the incident, RTL reported.

Although the media outlets didn’t specify which cables were cut, Copper theft has long plagued the rail industry due to the metal’s high market value. A 2017 British study found that railway cable theft occurs around five times a week in the UK, causing millions of dollars in losses every year.

Content by rt.com

Tags: Belgium Rail, copper theft

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Copper Theft Twice in Three Days from Newfoundland Power Substation in South River

Mark Cowan — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 12:26:03 +0000

Copper Theft Twice in Three Days from Newfoundland

Bay Roberts RCMP are investigating two copper theft events that occurred four days apart at Newfoundland Power’s substation on Springfield Road in South River.

According to a RCMP release, on both occasions – Oct. 26 and Oct. 29 – Newfoundland Power reported access was gained to the company by cutting the lock on the secured gate.

On October 26th, copper wire was cut from several power towers.

During the second break-in on October 29th, copper wire was cut and stolen, and there was substantial damage done to the high-voltage electricity system in the compound. It resulted in a power outage that affected nearly 3,000 customers in the area for more than four hours.

In light of the incidents, the company is cautioning the public about the dangers of entering locked areas of a high-voltage electricity system, such as substations. “Grounding wire is a very important part of the electrical equipment’s protection system,” the RCMP release states.“Once tampered with or removed, it makes it extremely dangerous for anyone in the substation and for employees to enter to make repairs.”

Content by thewesternstar.com

Tags: copper theft, Newfoundland Power

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Wind turbine substations targeted for copper theft in Huron County

Mark Cowan — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 16:31:08 +0000

Wind turbine substations targeted for copper theft in Huron County

$500,000 in damages after copper theft strips wire sending 40 turbines offline.

A total of nine copper thefts over two months have police urging the public to take note and be aware of suspicious activity.

Huron Wind farm

Thieves have been targeting hydro / wind turbine substations to steal copper wiring in Bluewater and Huron East. Six cases have been investigated in Bluewater and three cases in Huron East.

In some instances, the thieves stole about 40 feet of copper wire which has a street value of $100. In other cases thieves made off with more than 1,000 feet of copper wire.

Police note the damage to the stations far outweighs the value of the product stolen. The costs of repairing, replacing equipment, service disruptions, customer compensation and loss of revenue can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars. One case saw $10,000 worth of product stolen and about 40 wind turbines shut down for a period of time. The estimated damage to the facilities caused an estimated $500,000.

Police warn the damage from a copper theft can also create an unsafe environment. The removal of live copper wire used to ground electricity can pose serious safety threats to first responders, hydro employees and the culprits. Individuals are exposed to the risk of electric shock, fire, explosion, injury and death.

The vast majority of reported copper wire thefts have taken place overnight during the early morning hours. As such investigators are encouraging the public to be on the lookout for suspicious activity around hydro substations and wind turbine sites. Should you see suspicious activity around these sites please record as much information as possible and contact police.

Content by southwesternontario.ca

Tags: copper theft, Huron

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Armed robbery Copper Theft in Johannesburg

Mark Cowan — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 16:27:10 +0000

Armed robbery Copper Theft in Johannesburg

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has condemned a robbery at a substation in Mulbarton, south of Johannesburg.

The substation management says it has opened a case of theft following an armed robbery.

It’s understood six armed men stormed the substation at midnight and held up the security officers on duty and a staff member, and tied them with cables before stealing equipment from the site. The criminals broke into the onsite storage and stole cable and copper cables.

Mayor’s spokesperson Luyanda Mfeka says: “The theft of our city infrastructure can’t be allowed by any means or by any matter. We, therefore, encourage all residents who have information about this robbery and the criminals who perpetrated this crime to come forward with the matter.”

Content by ewn.co.za

Tags: copper theft, Johannesburg

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AEP Repair Following Copper Theft and Fire Causes Brief Power Outage

Mark Cowan — Thu, 25 Oct 2018 09:29:58 +0000

AEP Repair Following Copper Theft and Fire Causes Brief Power Outage

A power outage in the Kanawha City area of Charleston Thursday was caused by a copper thief.

A spokeswoman for Appalachian Power said that the vandal cut the equipment at AEP’s Chesterfield substation with the intent to steal copper.

The damage caused fire and voltage drop for customers. A 20 minute outage happened as crews made repairs.

The spokeswoman for AEP said the person is “very lucky they weren’t killed” because what they did was extremely dangerous. How much copper the thief got away with was not reported.

Tags: AEP, Appalachian Power, Charleston, copper theft

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Copper theft from Ausgrid substation at Mark’s Point causes fire

Mark Cowan — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 08:09:10 +0000

Copper theft from Ausgrid substation at Mark’s Point causes fire

Another case of copper theft from live electrical wires at Lake Macquarie has cut power to 1200 premises in the area.

Police are investigating the copper theft after an Ausgrid emergency crew was called to Marks Point just about 6am on Saturday 29th September when a fault was detected.

Ausgrid copper theft at Mark’s Point

The latest incident comes after similar thefts in August and March.

Thieves used a saw to cut through a metal security gate and the copper, which was connecting underground cables and overhead wires, was taken from a power pole about 20 metres from the road.

It sparked a fire and cut power to properties at Belmont, Belmont South and Marks Point.

“Unfortunately the message doesn’t seem to be getting through that anyone who interferes with live electrical wires is putting their own life and potentially those of others at risk,” Ausgrid chief operating officer Trevor Armstrong said. “Its Incredibly dangerous.”

Tags: Ausgrid, copper theft, Mark's Point

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copper theft – Copper Theft and Substation Safety – Cresatech

Zimbabwe Utility Zesa – Three Transformers Stolen Every Night

Zimbabwe Utility Zesa – Three Transformers Stolen Every Night

Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure has become a serious problem in their operations to the level of economic sabotage.

“The country is losing three transformers every night, with about 4 000 having been lost so far. These are imported materials, which cost about $5 000 each bringing the total loss to $20 million to date.”

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Eskom’s Cable / Copper Theft Crisis

Eskom’s Cable / Copper Theft Crisis

Eskom’s cable and copper theft crisis in Cape Town

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Two Men Suffer Severe Burns in Attempted Copper Theft

Two Men Suffer Severe Burns in Attempted Copper Theft at Duquesne Light Trafford Power Substation

Two men showed up at a Monroeville hospital emergency room in June with severe burn injuries following an attempted copper theft from a Trafford power substation, Westmoreland County Detectives reported.

East McKeesport police were summoned about 4:50 a.m. to AHN Forbes Regional Hospital in Monroeville to investigate two patients, Madden and Ziegler, who showed up for treatment of severe electrical burns to their bodies.

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Copper Theft Causes Major Damage To Cullman Electric Coop Substation And Outages For Thousands

Copper Theft Causes Major Damage To Cullman Electric

Copper theft inside a Cullman Electric Cooperative substation on Friday 28th October caused thousands of dollars in damage and resulted in more than 3,000 co-op members being without power for more than an hour.

Co-op members served by the Ebenezer substation in northwest Cullman County were without power for approximately 90 minutes while crews replaced grounding wires that had been stolen overnight.

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Failed Copper Theft Halts Belgium and Germany Commuters

Failed Copper Theft Halts Belgium and Germany Commuters

German and Belgian commuters are learning that even wannabe thieves can have a major impact on train traffic, after services were severely interrupted because someone tried to steal railway cables.

In the failed copper theft 30th October cables were severed, not stolen, but the disruptions still created chaos for travellers on the busy Germany to Belgium via Aachen route.

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Copper Theft Twice in Three Days from Newfoundland Power Substation in South River

Copper Theft Twice in Three Days from Newfoundland

Bay Roberts RCMP are investigating two copper theft events that occurred four days apart at Newfoundland Power’s substation on Springfield Road in South River.

According to a RCMP release, on both occasions – Oct. 26 and Oct. 29 – Newfoundland Power reported access was gained to the company by cutting the lock on the secured gate.

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Wind turbine substations targeted for copper theft in Huron County

Wind turbine substations targeted for copper theft in Huron County

$500,000 in damages after copper theft strips wire sending 40 turbines offline.

A total of nine copper thefts over two months have police urging the public to take note and be aware of suspicious activity.

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Armed robbery Copper Theft in Johannesburg

Armed robbery Copper Theft in Johannesburg

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has condemned a robbery at a substation in Mulbarton, south of Johannesburg.

The substation management says it has opened a case of theft following an armed robbery.

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AEP Repair Following Copper Theft and Fire Causes Brief Power Outage

AEP Repair Following Copper Theft and Fire Causes Brief Power Outage

A power outage in the Kanawha City area of Charleston Thursday was caused by a copper thief.

A spokeswoman for Appalachian Power said that the vandal cut the equipment at AEP’s Chesterfield substation with the intent to steal copper.

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Copper theft from Ausgrid substation at Mark’s Point causes fire

Copper theft from Ausgrid substation at Mark’s Point causes fire

Another case of copper theft from live electrical wires at Lake Macquarie has cut power to 1200 premises in the area.

Police are investigating the copper theft after an Ausgrid emergency crew was called to Marks Point just about 6am on Saturday 29th September when a fault was detected.

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