South Africa: thieves stealing 3-5km of copper cable per day

[phantom power]

Note the apparently non-ironic use of the term "scallywags."

In suburbs and industrial areas all around the city, electricity officials are battling to gain ground against a group of thieves who are fleecing the city of 3-5km of copper cables per day.

Sharing the modus operandi of these individuals, Ivan Worthington an official in the department told of a band of criminals who execute their plan with military precision. `They arrive on a street normally very early in the morning. They normally have several ladders, they hoist them up and start cutting down cables.' Worthington continued to say that in 20 minutes these culprits can take down a kilometer of cable.

In this vain the city's electricity department has taken a stand to stamp out this destruction of city property. `We are pleading with consumers to afford us some assistance with regards to this issue. We urge consumers to call Metro Police on 031 361 0000 if they suspect anything untoward,' said Allan Spence another electricity employee.

There are reported incidences of these scallywags being asked by consumers what their business was and they gladly reply that they are upgrading cables. The electricity departments' policy is that it does not replace cabling that works. `All the contractors we have working for us have one ladder. One vehicle works a particular area and their vehicle should be clearly marked with the name of the contractor.' Said Spence.

http://www.eprop.co.za/news/article.aspx?idArticle=9976

[tabatha]

1. They have been doing this for several years.

Instead of spending money on policing, they should rather spend it on food, jobs, training, etc.

Copper thieving was non-existent in the States until recently, as the economy and jobs have declined.

[OKIsItJustMe]

4. Well, it also helps that the price for many metals has skyrocketed

[gear_head]

2. solution for SA --> distributed generation

sadly, people in the US will have to make due with the
current grid and its 99.99% reliability

[hunter]

3. It's becoming a real problem in the U.S.

Copper plumbing and wiring vanishes quickly from abandoned buildings.

There used to be abandoned copper or aluminum overhead lines littering the landscape, especially alongside railroads and such. Nowadays if the owners put off reclaiming it too long the scavengers get it.

I've also seen some astonishingly large pieces of metal vanish from old mining sites and such -- one week it's there, the next week it's gone.