Electric Co-op Today

A Virginia couple has been charged with grand larceny after authorities discovered a stolen co-op transformer in the trunk of their car. Investigators characterized the March 20 incident as the first theft of its type in western Virginia, but say it may point to a new trend in copper thefts.

This 25-kilovolt transformer was found in the trunk of a car outside a co-op substation in Moneta, Va. (Photo By: Southside Electric Cooperative)

Jeffrey T. Lynch, 33, and his wife, Wendy M. Lynch, 30, are each charged with a single count of grand larceny in connection with the theft from a substation owned by Southside Electric Co-op, Crewe, Va. Drug-related charges in the case are also pending.

A deputy from the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department was patrolling near the co-op’s Moneta, Va., substation early March 20 when he noticed a 1993 Dodge Intrepid parked nearby.

A search of the vehicle turned up a suspicious substance believed to be marijuana. According to investigators, one of the suspects also had a lock the deputy believed had been cut off of the substation’s fence. When the deputy checked the trunk of the 18-year-old sedan, he found a co-op transformer inside.

“This was a pole-mounted style transformer. It had been held in inventory inside the fenced perimeter of our substation,” said Frank Harris, manager of member services and public relations for the co-op. “This was a 25-kilovolt transformer, so it must have been quite a struggle to lift it into the trunk.”

Tags: Copper Theft, Crime