ERMUSR Misc Notes 04-11-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Xcel Energy, which serves about 1 million customers in the greater Twin Cities area, has been dealing with a spate of wire thefts for more than a year. "In the past, you might have heard of something every three or four months, but nothing like this," said Kurt Kumlin, director of loss-control services for the Minnesota Rural Electric Association. The trade organization represents 44 electric cooperatives, including suburban utilities such as Connexus and Dakota Electric. Kumlin named nearly a dozen co-ops that have reported copper wire thefts since last summer. "We've seen it go up dramatically in the last eighteen months," said Xcel Energy security director Scott McCoy. Brazen, or stupid, thefts Criminals have stolen several Xcel utility trucks, including two in the past month. Lt. Dan Votel, who heads the Weapons of Mass Destruction at the Ramsey County Sheriff s Department, said that he collects information on those cases from local police departments because of the risk that a stolen truck with Xcel's logo could be used to gain access to other company equipment and facilities. Last week in East Bethel, awould-be wire theft broke into a locked Connexus transformer carrying 7200 volts and tried to cut the copper and aluminum wire, likely receiving a painful shock in the process. "We didn't find a body, but we don't imagine they'd be in a hurry to do it again anytime soon," said Connexus safety officer Chuck Jensen, who added that scorch marks were found at the scene of the crime. McCoy said he was amazed at the danger thieves are putting themselves in for $50 of scrap wire. "It's not like they're going out and picking gold up off the ground," he said. Copper prices fuel trend Metal theft is nothing new, but the skyrocketing price of copper has made it more attractive to thieves looking for quick cash. According to data from the International Copper Study Group, the price of copper has tripled in the past three years, to more than $2.20 per pound. Copper theft also is a hard crime to track given the vulnerability of construction sites and the fact that, unlike typical pawn shop fodder, most scrap metal lacks identifying markings. Minnesota law requires scrap dealers to collect the name, address, and driver's license number of people selling wire commonly used by communication and electric utilities, but many law enforcement officials are either unaware of the law or lack the resources to enforce it. Lt. Jim Heimerl is a police officer in north Minneapolis, where he said that metal theft is particularly common because of the area's relatively high concentration of unoccupied buildings and construction sites, as well as the presence of many of the city's major scraps dealers. Heimerl said that scrap dealers put little, if any, effort into tracking suspicious transactions. "I've never had one of them call and say, 'Joe Blow has been in here 20 days in a row,' " he said. 3/27/2006