Electric Co-op Today

It won’t help pay the bills, but perhaps co-ops can take comfort in knowing they’re in good company when it comes to being ripped off by copper thieves. Even Uncle Sam is a victim.

The Los Alamos National Lab was among the DOE entities hit by copper theft. (Photo By: Los Alamos National Laboratory)

“We have recently seen a troubling increase in the number of cases involving the theft of copper from Departmental facilities,” DOE Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman reported. “The Department’s laboratories, environmental remediation sites, generating stations and other facilities have not been immune to this problem.”

In a memo to the energy secretary, Friedman cited several instances of copper theft at DOE facilities. At Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, four contractor employees were convicted of stealing as much as 30,000 pounds of copper from the lab’s recycling facility. In Oregon, a security guard admitted stealing some $3,000 worth of copper from a DOE building that was being demolished. The guard “was in possession of methamphetamine at the time he was questioned about the theft,” the IG wrote.

Friedman noted that the problem of copper theft is unlikely to vanish any time soon.

“As long as the price of recycled copper remains high, the Department’s operations will be vulnerable to continued theft attempts,” Friedman wrote. And he noted that prevention efforts, such as securing remote substations and hanging power lines, don’t come cheap.

“However,” Friedman added, “we believe that there are practical, cost-effective steps that the Department can take to manage the risk.” He suggested an effort to “sensitize” federal employees and contractors to the problem of copper theft, with a focus on prevention and prompt reporting of cases. The IG also called for using enhanced inventory and access controls in “areas of high vulnerability.” And he urged the DOE to work with law enforcement to “maximize crime prevention efforts.”

Tags: Copper Theft, Crime