Electric Co-op Today

SMARR, Ga.—When Electric Co-op Today first met Bentley Carter in October 2008, he was dealing with massive copper theft.

Last year at Satilla REMC, where Carter is the loss control coordinator, some 218,000 feet of power line copper were stolen. “Over 41 miles,” he said, to put it in perspective.

But things have finally changed for the better at the Alma-based co-op.

“To date, in 2009, we’ve had very few cases,” Carter told ECT at a meeting here of co-ops, law enforcement and other stakeholders.

He pegs the number at seven or eight, and figures some of the falloff can be attributed to the drop in copper prices earlier this year. “But I don’t think that’s all it,” Carter said.

During the push to strengthen Georgia’s metals theft laws, Carter made several 430-mile roundtrips to the state capital to share Satilla REMC’s story with lawmakers.

That new law has helped, as has the co-op’s very good working relationships with sheriffs in its service area.

“The local efforts in the counties that we serve have really made a big difference,” Carter said.

“Plus some success stories, with two [copper thieves] that I know of being sent to prison. And there have been multiple cases where people are being caught and paying restitution. I think that word gets out in the criminal community.”

Tags: Copper Theft, Crime