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Copper Thievery Guts Light Poles09-18-07 | News

Copper Thievery Guts Light Poles

Colorado Springs Utilities (not pictured) is putting security bolts on light bases, but with nearly 18,000 thousand poles in Colorado Springs, it will take considerable time, money and manpower.

Since mid-May, Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) reports copper wiring from 291 light poles has been stolen. The copper thievery has cost CSU about $658,000 in light poles.

The relative high price of copper apparently makes stealing the wiring a lucrative sideline. The price of copper is volatile. The price has quintupled since 1999, rising from $.60/lb. in June 1999 to $3.75/lb. in May 2006. It dropped to $2.40 in February 2007, but jumped to $3.50 in April 2007. As of this writing, Sept. 5, 2007, it stands at 3.28/lb. It?EUR??,,????'?????<

Electric utilities in some parts of the country try to thwart thieves by putting a stamp on the wire, but the thieves just cut off the stamp.

Replacing the poles is expensive and time consuming. Of more immediate concern, though, is that when thieves bust into a pole, they often leave hot wires hanging. In fact, KOAA in Colorado Springs reports that on the night of Sept. 4, copper was stripped from a light pole across the street from Sand Creek Elementary School. It was left hot.