Thieves steal grounding wire from hundreds of utility poles

Columbia Water and Light said someone has stolen grounding wire from about 230 utility poles throughout central Columbia.

The wires should run from the top of the utility poles all the way to the bottom, and down into the ground. But someone has been coming through and cutting sections from hundred of poles.

Connie Kacprowicz, spokeswoman for the city department, said the thieves are likely doing it to make money.

“The grounding wire has copper in it so people are stealing it to resell it and get money out of it,” Kacprowicz explained.

Copper can be resold to a scrap yard for $2-$3 per pound. But the profits the thieves are looking to cut could cost a life, since Kacprowicz said this poses a danger to safety.

“Anytime you’re messing with electrical equipment there’s always a danger involved,” Kacprowicz said. “Not only for the thieves taking the wire, they’re putting their lives at risk, but also a lineman coming to work on the line.”

She said these cut cords also impact the reliability of the electrical system.

The city has since filed a police report and Columbia police will now be looking for anything suspicious. The city has also taken pieces of the wire to local scrap yards to let them know what to look for, and if they receive any, they’ll call police.

Even without the potential danger to safety, Kacprowicz said these wires aren’t as profitable as the thieves might think.

“The wires are made with a much smaller copper content now and there’s no way for them to know if they’re getting the new wire with less copper or the old one,” she said.

The department is now trying to figure out how much it will cost to replace all 230 wires.