NEWS FROM WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 18,
2008
CONTACT: Theresa
Williams, 720-962-7051
HELP WESTERN COMBAT COPPER THEFT AT ELECTRICAL
FACITILITES
MARTIN, S.D.—Last week,
thieves broke through a fence surrounding a local
high-voltage electrical substation owned by Western
Area Power Administration, a Federal agency. The
substation is located about five miles north of Martin. Once
inside the fence, the thieves cut copper wire from
high-voltage electrical equipment, causing about
$10,000 worth of damage to the facility and endangering
the reliability of electrical power in the area.
Electrical power to homes and businesses was not
the only thing jeopardized. According to investigators
at the substation, the thieves almost cut several electrical
lines—a dangerous move that could have been fatal. Chris
Barone, a security specialist for Western, noted, “The
thieves don’t seem to have any idea how dangerous
these facilities are for the untrained person. One
contact with the wrong wire or piece of equipment and
that could be the end for them. They came very
close.”
Crimes like these put us at a greater risk of losing
power to our homes, schools and hospitals. They
also contribute to the increasing cost of electrical
power. Barone said crimes against Western's facilities,
equipment, employees and property, including illegal
dumping and vandalism, have cost the agency up to half
a million dollars a year. “When criminals
attack electrical facilities, they are not only attacking
a public utility, they are attacking the communities
that rely on the electrical power the utilities provide.”
If you have any information concerning this incident
or if see any suspicious activity in or around high-voltage
electrical equipment, call Western’s Crime Watch
Program toll-free at 1-800-209-8962. You can also report
information online at http://www.wapa.gov/CorpSrvs/crime.htm or
contact the Bennett County Sheriff’s Department
at 605-685-6515. Witness identities remain confidential.
Western will offer up to $1,000 for information leading
to the arrest and prosecution of people responsible
for committing crimes on Western property.
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Western Area Power Administration annually markets and transmits more than 10,000 megawatts of power from hydroelectric powerplants owned and operated by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 15 western and central states. It is part of the Department of Energy.
Serving the West with Federal hydropower
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