Detroit Edison Boosts Rewards for Copper Theft Info
29 September 2008 - 11:11PM
PR Newswire (US)
Tips needed to thwart safety, service reliability problems DETROIT,
Sept. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Detroit Edison today boosted the amount it
will pay for information leading to the arrest of copper thieves
and urged its customers to help stop the growing problem of copper
cable and transformer theft by reporting illegal activity. Copper
thieves have not only targeted live power lines, but in recent
months have taken transformers from Detroit Edison utility poles.
Both practices are not only illegal, but extremely dangerous. "We
have to put a stop to copper thievery," said Michael Lynch, DTE
Energy chief security officer. "This is a dangerous activity for
the people stealing copper, but also for the people affected by
power outages caused by copper theft. As recently as last week we
had 4,000 feet of power lines stolen from one location alone." DTE
Energy is raising to $2,500 from $1,000 the amount it will pay for
information leading to the arrest of people stealing copper. In
addition, the company will pay $5,000, up from $2,500, for
information leading to the arrest of people buying stolen copper.
The number of copper theft incidents this year is keeping pace with
2007's record incident rate, but what has increased dramatically is
the number of transformers being stolen, Lynch said. Last year,
Detroit Edison experienced nearly 250 incidents of thieves taking
copper from Detroit Edison power lines and equipment. "The danger
and service reliability factors associated with copper theft makes
this a substantial problem, Lynch said. "Thefts are progressing in
frequency, blatancy, danger and even death, as we've witnessed in
the last several months." While a majority of the thefts have
occurred in the Detroit area, copper cable theft is a growing
problem across the state and across the country. Both the Detroit
City Council and the Michigan Legislature has acted to try to stem
the tide of copper thefts. The City Council amended an ordinance to
place stricter regulations on scrap metal dealers and scrap iron
and metal processors, while the state legislature placed tougher
penalties on certain entities caught buying or selling stolen
copper cable. However, thefts have continued to rise as the local
economy has soured. Detroit Edison customers with information about
copper theft can call the company's security department at (313)
235-9119. DATASOURCE: Detroit Edison CONTACT: Scott Simons,
+1-313-235-8808, or Lorie N. Kessler, +1-313-235-8807, both of
Detroit Edison Web site: http://www.dteenergy.com/
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