Copperhead island
Nova Scotia Power victim of close to 20 incidents of copper wire theft in Cape Breton in May
Officials with Nova Scotia Power say a number of incidents involving copper wire theft were reported during the month of May in Cape Breton.
Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Tiffany Chase confirmed the company experienced approximately 20 incidents of theft at different locations across the island, including Point Aconi and Scotch Lake.
The incidents occurred at Nova Scotia Power-owned substations as well as power lines.
“We do see it from time to time and unfortunately the nature of our equipment makes it a target for this kind of theft,” said Chase.
“There tends to be spikes in this type of activity … but police do their investigation and we also have our own security personnel who assist in the investigation to make sure that we can keep our customers, the public and employees safe.”
In Point Aconi, close to 150-pounds of copper wiring was stolen from a substation located near Point Aconi Road. The incident happened between May 11-14.
The replacement value of the wiring is between $5,000$8,000.
Meanwhile, in Scotch Lake, a large quantity of copper wiring was taken from power lines near 585 Scotch Lake Rd. Police believe the theft happened sometime between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m. on May 28.
The replacement of the stolen wiring is around $5,000.
“As we become aware of those (incidents) we would undertake the required repairs,” said Chase when asked whether the wiring has been replaced at all properties involved.
Chase couldn’t confirm all sites affected by theft or the amount of copper taken in the incidents reported, but she did note the cost of making repairs and safely securing the equipment would be “in the thousands of dollars.”
Jerry Pottie has worked in the scrap business for the past 21 years. He believes the reason for the recent spike in copper thefts is because of the current price of copper.
“When the prices are high, people are going to go looking for it and they go around power lines and different places,” said Pottie, who works for NorthMetals Construction Ltd.
“People go around landfills and gather up stuff, but it’s not for me to say where they get it — people have come here for years, they go all over the place scrounging, same as when heavy garbage collection is taken place.”
The price of copper is determined by the pound, however the price changes regularly.
Pottie said when the company purchases copper it’s usually unidentifiable.
“We wouldn’t know where
it came from even if it had the rubber on it because it doesn’t have serial numbers on it,” he said, noting business hasn’t been any busier than usual.
“We don’t know where it’s coming from when they come here.”
Pottie said the Sydney Mines business records all transactions by taking names and licence plate numbers when making a purchase of materials.
“The police come here every once and a while … if they find something suspicious they come here, and we let them look at the book and they check it out,” he said.
“There were a few times where people were followed here by the police and they caught them, and the stuff wasn’t legit — not lately, but we’ve had a few times when it happened.”
Nova Scotia Power recommends people keep a safe distance from its equipment because of the high risk for both personal and public safety.
“It can be quite a high risk for someone to put themselves in the position of trying to remove wires from our equipment,” said Chase, noting substations are usually protected by fencing, while other equipment is not.
“There’s potential for severe injuries to anyone that’s doing that — we have highly trained professionals who work with this equipment for a reason.”
According to Chase, the company’s ground wiring can carry 25,000 volts of electricity.
“A charge from that in the wrong hands could be lifethreating or fatal for people who are in the vicinity,” said Chase. “We strongly discourage anyone from approaching our equipment if they’re untrained.”
Along with the dangers, tampering with equipment can also cause power voltage issues for customers and possible power outages.
Nova Scotia Power is working with police in their investigation to solve the incidents.
Anyone with information about any of the incidents is asked to contact their local police detachment or Crime Stoppers.