Utilities scrambling as copper prices attract thieves either, terms

tiffiant

Utilities scrambling as copper prices attract thieves
Telus, BC Hydro urging provincial regulation to deter wire thefts
By Scott Simpson, Vancouver Sun June 2, 2011 5:56 AM



VANCOUVER - Record copper commodity prices have Telus and BC Hydro scrambling to keep up with wire thieves who are costing utility customers millions of dollars a year.

The companies warn that the problem is escalating — either in terms of the frequency of thefts of copper wire from overhead and other above-ground lines, or the sophistication of those undertaking them — putting the safety of repair workers and the general public at risk.

Both say an uneven mix of municipal regulations are failing to stop some unscrupulous scrap metal dealers from acting as fences for stolen wire, and believe that an overarching provincial regulation would dampen theft.

This week, the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce echoed that sentiment at its annual general meeting, passing a resolution calling on the B.C. government to take action.

Hundreds of Telus home phone, TV and Internet customers in Surrey found themselves temporarily without connections in a series of recent thefts that has the telecom company warning it’s on track for a record number of wire ripoffs in 2011.

BC Hydro, meanwhile, says it’s losing millions of dollars a year to wire theft — particularly because thieves can get quick cash in exchange for wire.

“This is not a victimless crime,” Telus spokesman Shawn Hall said. “This is not simply stealing some cable from a big, faceless corporation. This is putting people’s lives at risk.

“It is only a matter of time before someone picks up their phone to dial 911 but can’t because of cable theft, and someone dies.”

The average repair cost for one incident is $50,000, Hall said.

In the short time Hall was being interviewed by The Vancouver Sun, he received two emails notifying him of more thefts.

In one, 175 Telus customers in Surrey lost service after thieves snatched 45 metres of wire.

In the other, Langley RCMP arrested two men after two residents separately contacted police about unusual early morning activity involving a truck and some phone wire.

Hall added that Telus crews are very unlikely to be working through the middle of the night.

“We had about 95 incidents of cable theft to the end of April and now it’s well over a hundred so far this year.”

tiffiant

In 2010, there were 159 incidents of theft that took customers out of service, Hall said, with virtually all of those taking place in the last half of the year after copper commodity prices began to spike on world markets.

In essence, that’s more than 260 overnight thefts in the last 12 months.

“Today in British Columbia cable theft causes well over half of our outages — almost two-thirds.”

Some municipalities require scrap metal dealers to record detailed information about sellers; others have loopholes that enable thieves, Hall said. Most dealers are honourable — including those who regularly buy scrap wire from Telus as the company converts its system to fibre optic cable — but some operate outside the law because there are no effective deterrents, he said.

“If [cable thieves] weren’t able to sell this material they wouldn’t be stealing it. If there was no demand, there would be no supply,” Hall said.

The problem is not likely to abate without government action, both utilities suggested.

Copper is trading this year at record levels, and global commodity experts expect high prices to persist in the range of $4.15 US per pound through 2012.

Hall noted that the number of thefts fell to “almost nothing” during the recession, when the price of copper fell by half.

Both Telus and Hydro said the thieves are increasingly organized.

“Some groups use hacksaws, some groups use bolt cutters,” Hall said. “Some use ladders, others have more sophisticated climbing gear. We’ve seen some groups of thieves out there that have cherry picker trucks that will be dressed up in gear trying to make them look like legitimate Telus team members.

“We’ve had other reports where they actually had a couple of guys out as flaggers.”

Hydro said its theft problems began in the Lower Mainland when copper prices moved sharply up a few years ago, and now it’s happening all over the province.

BC Hydro chief security officer Bob Harriman said the Crown corporation believes “proper regulation of the recycling process” would help, and its preference is for a provincial regulation.

“It would be consistent throughout the province, versus the municipal level where you tend to get a different spin on different bylaws,” Harriman said.

He said “public safety issues” arise when neighbourhoods see power go out as a result of wire theft, and that there can be substantial risk to Hydro repair workers because thieves may be dismantling safety systems.

“Our employees are at risk when they come into the outage,” he said.

tiffiant

A Telus employee repairs cable after theft of Telus copper cable theft in Surrey Wednesday


VANCOUVER, BC.: JUNE 1, 2011 -- A Telus employee repairs cable after theft of Telus copper cable theft in Surrey, B.C. June 1, 2011. (Arlen Redekop photo/ PNG) (For story by [Scott Simpson)